The Hyuuga Clan Crisis
by Studious1
Summary: The Caged Bird Seal has always been a source of hatred in the Hyuuga Clan. What happens when 2 branch members find a way around it? A Hyuugacentric Fic
1. Hatred Rising

**The Hyuuga Clan Crisis**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

Chapter 1:Hatred rising

It was a warm summer night in Konoha; the full moon was in its midnight position as its light shone down on two shinobi making their way home. Closer inspection would reveal the pure white, pupil-less eyes that marked them as members of the Hyuuga Clan, one of the most prestigious clans in the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Well Hikaku, another day, another mission eh?" one said to the other, Hyuuga Hikaku looked at his comrade with baleful, yet tired eyes. He was clad in a brown shirt with brown pants, with a black sleeveless jacket that reached down to his knees. His brown hair which went to the top of his shoulders was held up by a brown headband on which was set the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village, it also covered another symbol, one he hated with a passion, The Caged Bird Seal that marked him as a Branch Family member.

Hikaku sighed, " So what if our mission was a success Hachico? Its not like we'll be lauded as heroes back at the compound, that _honor_ is only reserved for _Main Branch_ members." Hachico flinched at the bitterness in his childhood friend's voice. Hyuuga Hachico was clad in a red shirt with black pants and a black sleeveless jacket like his friend, his jet-black hair was held up by a black headband, which covered the curse seal.

" Come one Hikaku, things have gotten a little better for us since the Chunin Exams three years ago, haven't they? Hiashi-sama has worked to make our clan whole and more equal, and Hinata-sama has aided him in this work as well." Hikaku whirled around and glared at him with a look that held nothing except pure hatred in it.

" Have you so easily forgotten Hachico? Have you so easily forgotten all the times when we were kids? When we watched that same man torture our parents !?" Hikaku's voice lowered to a whisper as he stepped closer to Hachico

" _Have you forgotten that the Main Family killed my sister !?"_ Hachico sighed as he looked at the pained look in his teammate's eyes.

" No Hikaku, I haven't forgotten that. I suspect I never will." Hachico suddenly tensed and he looked around quickly before settling on a sight right behind his teammate.

" Hachico? What is it?" Hikaku turned around and saw a young man who looked to be in his middle twenties staring at them. He wore a white shirt with black pants and a plain cloth headband, which didn't show any affiliation with a village, what stood out however was the white bandana that covered his left eye.

" Who are you?" Hachico asked, the young man smiled at the Hyuuga, it was a kind smile. " My name is Ishahiro Tatsuga, and I'm here because I want to help the Branch Family of the Hyuuga Clan." This last statement caught the two Hyuuga shinobi off guard. Help them? What did he mean? " How do you want to help us?" Hachico asked, recovering his composure. " I am a man who has a very firm belief in justice, and of righting wrongs, What would you say if I told you that I know of a way to negate the effects of the curse seal?"

" I'd say you're out of your mind" Hikaku laughed, " Negate the cursed seal? There's no way." Hikaku turned and was about to walk away when Tatsuga's next statement stopped him in his tracked " You want to avenge your sister, don't you?" Hikaku whirled around " How do you know my sister?" he demanded. " I worked with her on missions on a few occasions" came the reply " she deserved to live a long life, a life callously cut short by the Main Branch." Hikaku stared at the ground, eyes ablaze with hate and rage. " And you, Hachico, don't you want justice against the Main Branch? Who left you an orphan?" Hachico choked as he remembered the few years he had with his parents.

All was silent as the wind flowed through the trees, until finally Hikaku spoke up " What is it that we need to do?" he asked. "Tell us what you want and it will be done," Hachico said, as a rage he thought had long since gone away resurfaced ten-fold. Tatsuga smiled. " Gather as many Hyuuga Branch Family members as you can. Choose people like you, with nothing to lose and everything to gain, who are not fooled by the false hope that the main branch seems to be perpetuating. Meet me here again in 5 days. I will free you from the seal then." " And then what?" Hikaku asked, Tatsuga's eyes gleamed" and then the rest, is up to you." With that, Tatsuga vanished. Hikaku gleamed as his rage and hate continued to boil.

"_Soon"_ he thought _" Soon the Main Family will pay for their crimes!"_

_A/N : So what did you think? Please review! Thanks!_


	2. The Flame Sparks

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with Naruto

5 days later Hikaku and Hachico were back, and with them were four fellow Branch Family members. The two conspirators had done as the mysterious Ishahiro Tastuga had asked and quietly gathered these four more avengers, as that is what they saw themselves.

" So Hikaku, where is this mysterious benefactor you kept hinting at?" spoke one, he was clad in standard issue shinobi garb with the exception of black wrist guards and ankle guards. His hair reached to just below the top of his shoulders, and was sporting a black Konoha headband.

" I don't know Furio, I'm not so sure if he's a benefactor" the response came from a young woman who looked to be around 19 or so. She was wearing black pants with a white long-sleeved shirt. Her somewhat short black hair partially draped her forehead covered by her black Konoha headband. At the moment she was looking apprehensively at Hikaku and Hachico.

" Do not worry Hikara, Ishahiro Tastuga is indeed a benefactor, it is he who will give us a way to bring justice to the Main Branch, for everything they have done to us, and to our families" Hikaku's reply came in the tone of one who was utterly convinced that what he was saying is true.

" Hikaku, I believe her apprehension comes from how small our numbers are" spoke up another avenger. This one was clad in light blue pants with a sleeveless white shirt and a short light blue overshirt. What really stood out from everyone else were the twin ninja swords that were strapped to his sides, his long black hair was tied into a swordsman's topknot. A light-blue Konoha headband completed his outfit.

"That I can understand Hajiro, but I wouldn't worry overmuch about it, once others realize that our cause is a just one, they will flock to join us" relied Hachico. His tone was the same as Hikaku's a few seconds prior.

" Don't sound so certain Hachico, what we're doing here is essentially treason" this comment came from the final member recruited into the fold. He was a young man in his early twenties, wearing tan pants with a white shirt, a tan sash was wrapped around his waist and his forehead was covered in bandages with his tan headband wrapped around his left arm. " And I'm certain you know that most people don't automatically want to jump at the chance at that."

" Treason? Treason against what Kajiko? What we're doing is bringing justice against those who've wronged us, what's treasonous about that?" replied Hikaku.

You know what I mean Hikaku," replied Kajiko, the group fell silent. Yes, what they were doing was treason technically. There was no going back for any of them after tonight. Hikaku and Hachico looked at one another, recalling the past five days as they quietly assembled their group. Most didn't believe them, those that did believe were too afraid of being labeled traitors to want to do anything. Kajiko had been the last to be recruited, and it had taken a couple of days for him to finally say he was in. One thing was certain; no one had mentioned anything about it around a member of the Main Branch, which would've killed the entire plan before it begun.

Suddenly a figure appeared in the small back-ally where they were meeting, Hikaku smiled as he recognized Ishahiro Tatsuga.

"Tatsuga-san, greetings" Hikaku said, " These are my fellow bringers of justice." He continued as he swept a hand around at the gathered group.

"Hikaku-san, greetings to you as well. Your group is small, but it's a start," replied Tastuga. " You may introduce yourselves later. First we need to remove that troublesome seal on your foreheads". All the Hyuuga present looked up at this. " Please, this way." Stated Tastuga as he motioned to the interior of a large building.

Inside the building there was a circle, inside it were two smaller circles and within those was a drawing of a lion, but what was unique about the circle was that it was black, along with the lion drawing. Kajiko stopped and looked at it.

"Black? Why Black? He asked. He recalled black being a color associated with everything that was the exact opposite of what Hikaku was saying that their little group stood for. Tatsuga smiled disarmingly.

"The color of the jutsu color is misleading " he replied, " rest assured that I have nothing but honorable intentions towards the Branch Family." Kajiko appeared satisfied by this answer.

"Now, all of you, sit down inside the jutsu circle" he directed. When they had done so, he lit two candles and sat in between them. " This might sting a bit," he told them" now close your eyes".

They did so, and Tatsuga began making hand signs, when he was finished he extended his palm towards the group. The circle they were sitting in began to glow brightly.

Hikaku hissed as he felt the seal on his forehead burn, his hands started shaking uncontrollably as the burning sensation became more acute, but just as the pain reached unbearable proportions…it stopped. Hikaku didn't dare move. "Open your eyes" Tatsuga directed. When Hikaku did so he looked around at his fellows. He grew a little angry when he could still see the seal on their foreheads, but before he could say anything Tatsuga spoke up.

" While the image of the seal is still there, it can no longer affect you, just fake it when a main family member uses the seal" Hikaku relaxed.

Tatsuga went on " I have given you the first step in a much broader foundation. The next step is purely up to you" he smiled. This building is your headquarters if you wish. I own it" With that he stood up, bowed, and walked away from the group.

"Everyone feeling okay?" asked Kajiko as he looked around at his fellow branch members.

"Okay? I feel great!" replied Hikaku, eyes gleaming. " So what do we do now?" asked Furio.

Hikaku gazed around at the assembled conspirators, " Now we send the Main Family a little message, an introduction to the justice that is about to befall them."

A/N: So what do you guys think? If you like, please review, if you see anyplace that I need to make adjustments or something please let me know. Thank you very much!


	3. First Strike

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, at all.

The next day, with the sun shining high and bright in the brilliant blue sky, the 6 avengers looked on silently as a young girl walked along one of the more secluded paths of the Hyuuga compound. Her name, Hyuuga Hikita, was well known to them. She had a reputation for being pompous, haughty, and for activating the cursed seal for even minor offences.

Hikara was watching especially attentively, one of her close friends had been a recent victim of the girl's tendencies. Now, she would get a chance to exact punishment on the one responsible for her friend's pain.

Hyuuga Hikita, on the other hand, had no clue whatsoever that someone who meant her harm was close by. Her thoughts were on the dinner that she would be having with her grandfather that evening, for yesterday she had completed her very first mission. Her grandfather arranged the dinner so she could tell him all about it. _"It will be wonderful to see Grandfather tonight,_" she thought "_He's usually so busy with clan business that he hardly ever has time for family."_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt an overwhelming sense of …rage? "_Killing intent"_ she thought as she whirled around and charged her attacker. Hikara smirked behind the white facemask she wore, Hikita probably didn't know her but it wouldn't hurt to be safe.

Hikara quickly and easily sidestepped the young Main family member's thrust, sending Hikita off-balance. While Hikita attempted to regain her footing, Hikara swiftly slammed her knee into the young girl's stomach, knocking the wind clean out of her. She then followed up with a swift left hook and then slashed the girl with a kunai knife in her right hand. Hikita screamed as she slammed onto the ground, rolling for a couple feet before coming to a stop, but Hikara wasn't done yet.

Hikita's scream had reminded her of her mother's screams as she had been tortured by the seal in the past, pushing her anger over the edge. She stood over Hikita, who was trying to get up, and unleashed a flurry of punches. Her fists collided with the girl's body repeatedly, drawing blood in several places.

Hikara didn't stop until she had to be pulled off by Kajiko, "That's enough" Kajiko stated firmly, a quick scan of Hikita's now still form showing she was still alive.

"Cool down already" stated Hikaku, who walked over to Hikita and hauled her up by the collar. He then pulled out a scroll attached to a kunai that had been prepared the previous evening, thrusting the kunai into Hikita's back.

"Nice work there Hikara, now to add one final touch." Hikaku then activated his Byakugan and closed off a couple of her Tenketsu. He then tossed her carelessly to the ground, causing the kunai to become even further embedded into her body.

"Lets go everyone, it won't be long before the Main Branch realizes that one of their members is unaccounted for" Hachico said to the assembled group, murmurs of approval rose up at this and one by one the left the area. Kajiko was the last to leave, and before he did he took one last look at Hikita lying on the ground. "_Is this justice, or vengeance?"_ he asked himself before he too, left the area.

It wasn't long before Hikita's still form was found and sent shockwaves through the entire compound. Hiashi was stunned by the brutality that was described to him, but he quickly regained his composure and turned to an attendant " Send someone to the hospital to summon one of the Hyuuga medics, find Neji and tell him to go find Hinata, find Hanabi as well." " At once sir" came the prompt reply, as the attendant swiftly left to carry out her instructions.

Hiashi looked out the window of his study, no longer noticing the fine day "_What on earth is going on?"_ he thought.

A/N: Chapter 3 up! I hope I did that brief fight scene okay, Again If you see anything that I need to fix or see a way to make it better, please let me know!


	4. The Embers Smoulder

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

" Great job Hinata! You're getting better at this!" the cry came from one Uzumaki Naruto who, at the moment, was engaged in a unique training session with his friend, Hyuuga Hinata. The training was unique in that Naruto was setting traps around a select area in the training ground and Hinata had to avoid the traps, disable them, or trick Naruto into falling into his own creations. The whole point was to increase the versatility of Hinata's thinking.

"A-a-arigato, Naruto-kun" Hinata managed to pant back; she had just barely managed to dodge a rather ingenious trap of Naruto's making. It had been her idea to do the training with Naruto to begin with, she wished to increase her thinking ability and she thought that training with the Number One Practical Joker in the village would definitely accomplish that.

Naruto grinned at the indigo-haired kunoichi before him, she indeed was getting better at dodging and disabling his traps, but she had yet to trick Naruto into one of his own traps. " Of course that just means I'm going to have to get even more tricky with my traps" he told her as he grinned deviously, and then he vanished into the surrounding trees.

Hinata wiped her forehead and gazed around, she knew Naruto had _something_ set up, finding out what would be the tough part. With a determined look she activated her blood limit and set off in the direction, which Naruto had vanished. She had only gone a short way when something told her to stop. Someone was coming, someone who was dead set on finding her.

"Naruto-kun?" she called out. "No Hinata I'm not giving you any freebies" came the reply.

"That's not what I was going to say Naruto-kun, I was going to tell you that someone was headed our way." Hinata told him.

"Huh?" Naruto was confused, who would be coming their way? He showed himself then jumped up to a high branch and looked in the direction Hinata had indicated. "Whomever it is I can't tell who it is Hinata" he called down to her.

Hinata focused her eyes, and was surprised to see Neji racing towards them at top speed. " Its Neji-nii-san!"

"Huh? What's he coming to us for?" Now even more confused, Naruto jumped down to Hinata's side.

Suddenly, there was a loud _whoosh_, swiftly followed by a loud curse. " Oops, sounds like Neji got into one of my rope traps." Naruto grinned sheepishly, then dashed off to extricate the Jonin from the trap.

Hinata waited patiently until the sound of a loud argument made its way towards her.

"….pletely irresponsible!"

"Hey! I was training with Hinata! I wasn't expecting anyone to come headlong our way!"

" That's your problem Naruto! You _never_ expect _anything_! You could have trapped some innocent villager!"

"Since when do villagers come around the training grounds idiot!"?

"Idiot!? Why you little…!"

Just then the two combatants burst into the clearing, Neji red with fury and Naruto face- to face with him.

"Hey! I'm not little you….!" Neji never did find out what Naruto was going to call him, because at that moment Hinata decided to step in and prevent possible bloodshed.

" Please you two, calm down. Neji-nii-san, why are you here? What's going on?" she asked looking at her older cousin.

Neji quickly composed himself upon seeing his younger cousin and charge. " Hinata-sama, your father sent me to find you and bring you back to the compound quickly."

"B-but, why?" Hinata asked, clearly at a loss as to what on earth her father was doing sending Neji to find her.

"There has been an attack on Hyuuga grounds, on Hyuuga Hikita" Neji stated immediately.

Hinata paled visibly at the news," T-there h-has been an attack, on a Main Family member?" Naruto was now staring at Neji stunned.

"Yes, Hiashi-sama wants you to come back to the compound at once" Her cousin insisted.

Hinata turned towards Naruto, who now had a grim expression on his normally happy face " Gomen, Naruto-kun, I'm afraid we must end our training early today."

"Yeah, just..Send me a note or something when you want to meet again, okay?" Hinata nodded at him.

" Come Hinata-sama, we must be going" Neji said, turning in the direction towards the Hyuuga compound.

" Wait second, Neji!" Naruto called out, " shouldn't we tell the 5th about this?"

" No, Naruto, we don't tell Hokage-sama unless the order is given by the leaders"

"But..!"

"Please Naruto-kun" Hinata looked at him pleadingly, " Let my clan handle this for now"

Naruto looked at his friend, then sighed, "Okay Hinata, I promise"

"Arigato, Naruto-kun"

"Come then, Hinata-sama. We must be heading back," Neji stated again. This time Naruto said nothing as he watched the two make a beeline towards their home.

" _If this has anything to do with what I think it does, then Hinata and Neji's clan is going to be in for a rough time"_

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Elsewhere in the Hidden Leaf, two of those responsible for all the uproar were engaged in a disagreement.

"I'm telling you Hikara there was no need to go that far!"

"That little witch tortured my friend Kajiko!"

Kajiko stepped back, fuming, facing the enraged young woman before him.

"Even so Hikara, she was 13 years old! You didn't have to beat her to within an inch of her life!"

"Calm down, both of you!" Kajiko and Hikara looked towards the owner of the voice.

Hajiro looked down at them, "All members are being gathered into the compound, standard protocol"

Hikara huffed, and then took off towards the compound. Hajiro lingered with Kajiko.

"Kajiko, I know you want justice as well, why are you so concerned about the girl?"

Kajiko glared at him " was what Hikara did justice or vengeance?"

"Why justice of course, she is wholly dedicated to justice and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it."

Hajiro looked at Kajiko's doubtful face briefly " It would be wise to put such weak thoughts out of your head Kajiko, because this is just the beginning"

Hajiro then left for the compound, with Kajiko following.

A/N: Chapter 4 up! Yes I know its longer than the first 3. I'm going to try and write longer chapters. As always, please read and review! Constructive comments are always appreciated!


	5. Clouded Minds

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto at all

Upon their arrival at the compound, Neji and Hinata were met with the sight of a female cadet branch member running towards them.

"Hinata-sama, thank goodness you're here! This incident is already causing many arguments between the two branches. If this continues..!".

"Sujiko-san, please calm down. Wasn't there something else you were supposed to tell me?" Hinata knew Sujiko wouldn't be standing right there waiting for her simply to tell her the effects of the attack.

"Ah! Yes, of course Hinata-sama, forgive me." Sujiko gave a bow " Hiashi-sama wanted you to come to a meeting in 2 hours. He wished for you and Hanabi-sama to be present."

"Very well Sujiko, thank you for telling me." Sujiko bowed again.

"Hinata-sama, I will take my leave now" Neji also bowed to his cousin and walked off, Hinata and Sujiko went off in the direction of Hinata's room.

"Now Sujiko, do you have any idea what happened today? With the attack?" Hinata asked her companion.

"Well Hinata-sama, around half an hour ago Hikita-san was found facedown on one of the northwest paths in the compound, she was badly beaten and a few stab wounds were present as well. Most disturbingly, a kunai was found thrust into her back with a scroll attached to the end."

"A scroll? What did it say?" Hinata looked at Sujiko.

Sujiko worried her bottom lip nervously, " I…do not know Hinata-sama, forgive me"

"Don't worry Sujiko, you've already given me plenty of information, doctors were summoned of course?

"Of course"

" Then when it becomes possible, bring me a copy of the medical report, please"

Sujiko grinned, " My brother is one of the medics attending to her Hinata-sama, it should be easy for me to procure what you seek."

By this time they had arrived at Hinata's quarters, whereupon Hinata swiftly went to take a shower and Sujiko proceeded to lay out traditional black Hyuuga robes for her to wear at the meeting, all the while though, her mind was worrying about what had occurred that day. Yes, she certainly wasn't fond of Hikita; but after the Chunin Exams 2 and a half years prior, Hinata's efforts had created a sort of equilibrium between the two houses (notable exceptions excluded of course), this would surely damage it.

Hinata for her part was attempting to make sense of the attack. She certainly was not ignorant of the animosity present in the clan, however she had come to believe that the "Dark Ages" (as Naruto once coined it) were past and the clan was moving towards unity. " What could have prompted this attack? Were they from the Main Family or the Branch Family? Were they even from the Hyuuga Clan at all?" She shook the thoughts from her head, no sense in jumping to conclusions when she only had the bare basics of information. She finished her shower and dried her hair, and while Sujiko was helping her get ready her door slid open to reveal her little sister, Hyuuga Hanabi. At the moment the younger sibling had a very smug smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, Hinata onee-san"

"Good afternoon, imotou-chan what brings you here?"

" I have already figured out this whole situation," Hanabi stated firmly.

"Oh? Then do please enlighten me imotou-chan." _"Here it comes"_ Hinata thought to herself.

" The attack was perpetrated by a member of the branch family, without a doubt as retaliation to some incident or other." Hanabi stated with absolute certainty in her voice, and not noticing the very subtle flinch from Sujiko.

" I see…and what brought you to this conclusion?" Hinata asked calmly.

" From what I have heard of Hikita-chan's injuries, she was attacked by someone who had great rage against her"

" That could be anyone in the clan or the village Hanabi"

" But no one else is allowed inside the compound unless they are Hyuuga or the Hokage"

"Again, It could be anyone in the clan Hanabi"

The verbal sparring went on for a 10 mins before a branch member came along to take Hanabi to get ready, once she was clear of Hinata's room, Hinata turned to Sujiko.

"What are you thinking?" Hinata asked her.

"While I agree that it could be anyone Hinata-sama, my heart fears that it is indeed a branch family member." Came the reply.

Hinata looked a the woman who now had a pained look on her face " and I believe that our clan is in for a major storm."

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An hour and a half later, Hinata sat next to her father in the council room, her eyes cast downwards reading the medical report of Hyuuga Hikita's injuries. She had to admit that the injuries were quite severe, and the inclusion of the closed Tenketsu was quite disturbing. Her head came up when she heard her father call the meeting to order.

" Good evening, all of you. I'm sure all of you are aware that this meeting is about the earlier attack on Hyuuga Hikita." Murmurs of confirmation were heard from around the room. " However, this is also to address a certain scroll…"

"FORGET ABOUT THE SCROLL!" shouted an older man who had surged to his feet; he cast a furious gaze at the head of the Hyuuga Clan. " What I want to know is what on earth is going to be done to find the cowards who did this to my sweet granddaughter!"

"_He's obviously oblivious to the fact that the majority of her graduating class despises her,"_ Hinata thought to herself.

"Elder Hanzaki, we will get to that in due time. However, there is something written in the scroll that was found at the scene that also requires attention. Sit down or I will be forced to eject you from the meeting" Stated Hiashi firmly. Elder Hanzaki sat down grumbling.

" Now then, as I was saying, a scroll was found on the scene attached to the kunai knife found in Hyuuga Hikita's back. Its contents are unique as they look plain but the phrasing is rather cryptic."

Hiashi stood up and unfurled the scroll to a point where all could read:

Between Midnight's peace and the morning dew

We rekindled our hatred for you

Justice delayed is always denied

But we come to tell you our hands are no longer tied

An ancient hatred shall be your end

Because now a door has been opened

Thru it shall come a raging fire

Fueled by our raging ire

We shall come for you, be you lion or mouse

And justice will finally find The Main House

There was complete silence in the room for a few minutes, which was rudely interrupted by Hanzaki.

" Humph! It would seem that whoever attacked my granddaughter wasn't trying to be cryptic, he or she was plain crazy!" he declared.

" It's a bit early to be making any sort of judgment like that Elder Hanzaki," said another in the room

"Nonsense! Just look at the phrasing! It's not in any well known style, though if they had a style at all, which I doubt, then they weren't even attempting to follow it!"

Hiashi looked squarely at the fuming elder and asked " So are we to just walk around the compound looking for anyone who shows signs of insanity Elder?" his voice dripped with sarcasm.

"No, I'm saying that the scroll is simply a ploy! A sham to throw us off the trail! It has no real significance to the attack on my granddaughter." Hanzaki stated pompously.

While this little exchange was going on, Hinata was looking intently at the message. It seemed to make some sort of eerie sense to her, and her mind was working to sort it out when her train of thought was interrupted by another outburst.

"WHY ARE WE WASTING TIME LOOKING AT NONSENSE WORDS!? WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS ATTACK!"

" These _nonsense_ words could be our one clue as to who is behind this attack! This could be the start of a major crisis!"

" I'm telling you…!"

"SILENCE!!!!!!!!" Hiashi roared. The whole room turned quiet in an instant.

" I can see that this meeting is already starting to get out of control, therefore we shall continue it tomorrow, at the same time. That is all!"

Grumbling could be heard from Elder Hanzaki, but otherwise the room continued in its silence as the elders filed out. Soon only Hiashi and Hinata were left in the room.

"Well _that_ was very productive" Hiashi stated bitterly. Hinata said nothing as she continued to stare at the scroll for another few moments before she spoke for the first time since the meeting started

" Father? May I take this scroll? I would like to look at it further." Hinata asked her father as she turned to face him.

"Hmm? Does it make sense to you Hinata?

"Almost, that's why I would like to look at it further"

"Certainly" Hiashi said as he rolled up to the scroll and handed it to his daughter.

"Arigato, Father. Will you want my presence tomorrow?"

"No, Hinata. I know this incident has interrupted your training today and I'm sorry for that. Just be careful in the coming days."

"Of course father." With that, Hinata bowed and excused herself from the room, seeing Sujiko upon leaving it she signaled to the cadet branch member.

"Yes Hinata-sama?"

"Sujiko-san, could you please see if Neji-nii-san can meet with me tonight?"

"Does it concern the contents of that scroll?"

"Yes, in fact you can be there as well."

" In the small alcove next to your chambers, overlooking your garden?"

"Yes Sujiko-san"

"Shall I see a dinner set there as well?"

"Yes Sujiko"

"Very Well Hinata-sama"

"I think you were right earlier Sujiko-san, I think this was done by members of the branch family."

" I had hoped I was wrong Hinata-sama" with that Sujiko bowed and took her leave

Hinata arrived at her chambers and stared out at the full moon that was bathing the compound in its white light. Hinata barely noticed the sight as one thought went through her mind.

"_Why am I getting the sneaking suspicion that this is only the beginning?"_

A/N: Chapter 5 up! I entered a new character by the name of Sujiko; she's kind of like a handmaiden to Hinata. As always, please read and review! If you see any place or places that I need to make changes or adjustments please let me know! Constructive criticism is always welcome!


	6. Evening Conferences

Later that evening, as the moon shone above the Hyuuga compound, Hinata sat in her alcove having dinner with Sujiko and Neji. It was a rather serene scene, with Hinata's carefully tended garden providing a very beautiful backdrop. To any outside observers, it would seem nothing was out of the ordinary. However, this peaceful scene hid a very serious gathering. After dinner Neji turned towards his younger cousin.

" Well Hinata-sama, what happened earlier at the meeting that would prompt you to conduct one of your meetings?"

"Meeting? What meeting Neji-nii-san? Elder Hanzaki turned it into a shouting match. Nothing of real note was accomplished."

"Why am I not astonished by that?"Neji muttered

"Because it is to be expected Neji-san, Elder Hanzaki is well known for…"

"Being a jerk?" Neji offered

"Not looking at plain facts and going off on tirades?" Hinata asked.

" Both of you would be correct" Sujiko answered. " He is known for wanting swift action with very little thought as to the details of a specific incident, wanting only action, however we digress. Hinata –sama, what was it about the contents if this scroll that concerns you so?"

"Ah, of course. I need both of you to look at it and tell me what you think, if it makes any sense to you at all."

Hinata unfurled the scroll, setting it up on a stand so that the words were visible to the two branch members present.

As Sujiko gazed at the words on the scroll, she began to feel very nervous. The words struck a chord within her that echoed within every branch family member. To her, the words spoke of a hatred that she herself had tried to forget, to move on from. Staring at those words however, brought back memories that she thought were long buried. Her first time being subjected to the cursed seal, watching her parents and brother being tortured with it, everything that the main house had done to cause her and her family pain came screaming back to her. What stood out to her was the line "Our hands are no longer tied".

For Neji's part, the words evoked a hatred in him that he thought had long died out, a hatred that once caused him to nearly kill the young main branch member he just had a very pleasant dinner with. The words before him were, to his shock, very easy for him to understand. What stood out to him was the line " A door has been opened".

Hinata watched them both, watched their reactions to the words written on the scroll, she saw the profound impact that the words were having on them. She wasn't blind, mentally or literally, the words had to have been written by a branch family member for them to have such a deep impact on the two sitting before her. Since she started having these meeting a year after Naruto left for training, she had been given an inside look at the hatred that permeated her clan for generations. There had been a couple times her father wanted her to stop having the meetings, not because he thought they were a waste of time, but because he feared that at some point a branch member would lash out and harm Hinata, even though she herself had never done anything to deserve the anger. Hinata admitted that, as a main branch member, she would be a target for outbursts of rage from the branch family members. However, she would continue the meetings because she felt that in order for thorough decisions to be made, one had to consider all the possible angles. Thus far, the meetings had prevented any major issues from going out of control. It was her fervent hope that she could stop whatever was brewing before it became a real emergency. Having decided that the two had had ample time to read and process the words, she leaned forward and asked, " Well, what do you make of it?"

Neji and Sujiko stirred as if they had been brought out of a deep trance, it was Neji who spoke first.

"Hinata-sama, you were right to consult Sujiko and myself on this matter. This poem, this message is a very clear warning to the main family"

"Indeed Hinata-sama" spoke up Sujiko " this message, it speaks in a way that conveys the anger and hate that has been the norm for our clan for many generations."

"However Hinata-sama" said Neji " the wording is quite unusual"

"I noticed that as well Neji-nii-san, but before I could work it out Elder Hanzaki went off on one of his tirades." Hinata said, " but I would like your views as well."

"I believe we have both come to the same conclusion Hinata-sama, this attack was indeed perpetrated by members of the branch family, however the message hints at something.

"Hints at something? As in what, Sujiko-san?"

"Well Hinata-sama, what caught my attention was this line here 'our hands are no longer tied', they must be saying that before they were powerless to attack the main family, but now an obstacle has been removed, so they feel they can finally seek justice against the main family." Sujiko replied

" I agree Sujiko-san, it ties in with what caught my eye ' a door has been opened'. The question here is, what door was closed that has now been opened? How was it opened?" Neji asked.

" Indeed, what is this door?" Hinata asked, her face serious." Lets set that aside for the moment, what is the general feeling of the branch family at the moment?"

Sujiko spoke up " While Hikita-san wasn't popular with the branch family Hinata-sama, the nature of the attack on her shocked them, and right now the majority are worried about what the main branches response will be."

"Indeed" Neji spoke up " Many thought she had something coming to her, but the general consensus is that the attackers went way to far, and now the main worry is whether the main branch is going to carefully think this through, or pin it on some poor unfortunate soul. News of the outcome of today's meeting did nothing to dispel those fears."

"I see… I will write down all of the conclusions we've come to and give them to father in the morning. Hopefully what we've figured out will help solve this mystery and stop a crisis before it gets fully underway."

"Did he not want your presence tomorrow?"

"No, he did not when the meeting ended, however news of what we have figured out may change his mind."

"I hope so Hinata-sama, you're the only one in the main family who realizes that this could turn into a crises for the whole clan, not just the main branch."

" I don't think I'm the _only_ one Sujiko-san, but I do have doubts that my presence and words will have any influence at all on any decision made, but I will do my best. Just know that if their decision involves activating the seal, that it definitely wasn't my idea"

"Of course, Hinata-sama. We know, we'll take our leave now." Both Branch members bowed and left the room, carrying the dinner with them.

Hinata looked at the notes that she had been taking during the short conference.

" _I know that it isn't much, but its far more than what the official meeting accomplished."_

She then sat down at her desk to organize the notes, hoping that whatever damage had been done can be healed.

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Across the village, another evening conference was also just wrapping up.

"HA! The Main Branch's power is a complete sham! The scroll was a brilliant move, its directly tied to us yet the old fools refuse to even look at it! They're completely deadlocked! Hahaha!

"I wouldn't be so cocky Hachico, Hiashi-sama has called for another meeting tomorrow, and they may reach a conclusion then. Also, don't forget many of our fellow branch family members were horrified by what happened." reprimanded Kajiko.

"Not as many as you may think Kajiko, sooner or later others will see that our cause is just and will flock to join us." Hikara smugly replied. "Now as to our next target..."

"Wait Hikara, lets see what the main branch does first. Then we'll plan our next move." Interrupted Hikaku "For now, just enjoy the satisfaction in knowing that now one of the main family knows the pain of the branch family, if only a small taste."

With that the meeting ended, though Hikaku motioned to Hachico to remain. When the others had gone Ishahiro Tatsuga stepped forward.

" An excellent start, however I must warn you two about something."

"What is it?"

"When planning this, I spoke with a sage and he told me " If your plan is to truly succeed, then you must slay the White Lioness of the Hyuuga Clan."

"The White Lioness? Who the hell is that?" Hachico asked.

"The sage wouldn't say" came the reply.

"Well, if this Lioness is indeed in the main branch of the clan, and she is such a threat to us, then we'll keep an out for whoever it may be, and when the time is right… We'll kill her."

"First we need to find out who she could be," mused Hikaku.

Both men bowed to their benefactor, thanking him for the information. They then left the secret hideout, ready to continue their crusade at the next opportunity.

A/N: Chapter 6 up! Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed! It's very much appreciated! Please continue to read and review and thanks again!


	7. Hidden Threats and an Ancient Hatred

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

The rays of the morning sun filtered through the Hyuuga compound, announcing the breaking of a new day. The warm rays hit the central courtyard to find a young woman and a young girl facing off in the middle. Hyuuga Hinata looked across at her little sister Hanabi, who at the moment was in a basic Gentle Fist stance, however her face indicated extreme confidence and a little defiance. Hinata on the other hand showed simply a calm expression, not tipping her hand in anyway as to what she was thinking.

It was Hanabi who moved first, charging straight ahead, with a hand aimed straight at her big sister's stomach. She was about to connect when Hinata gracefully spun out of the way then launched her hand at her little sister who twisted her body just enough to bring her left arm up to block the attack. The two sisters jumped apart.

"Well onee-san, looks like I was right after all" said Hanabi as she renewed her assault on her big sister.

Hinata jumped up, performing a flip in mid-air and landed three feet behind Hanabi. She in turn charged and was again blocked " Right about what, imotou-chan?" Hinata jumped back a couple feet, only to be met by a chakra-laced hand coming straight at her, which she blocked.

Hanabi smirked up at her big sister "About who was behind the attack on Hikita-san." She swiftly brought up her free hand in an attempt to attack Hinata from the side, but was instantly foiled.

"If you mean that the attack was perpetrated by a branch family member, then yes, you were correct, however…"Hinata then shifted her position, her hands gripping her sisters arms, and threw Hanabi three feet away.

"You're not looking deeply enough, something big is brewing…" Hinata stated as Hanabi regained her footing.

" ' Something big is brewing?' nee-san, come on, this isn't some mystery novel, it's a clear cut case of assault on a main branch family member" Hanabi charged, this time catching her big sister in the stomach and pinning her against a tree " You're such a conspiracy theorist nee-san, you're thinking too deeply about this" Hanabi stated with a triumphant smile on her face.

Hinata just grinned at her little sister…before disappearing into a log in front of Hanabi's eyes. The next thing Hanabi knew she was dangling by one foot in mid-air; the other end of the thin rope was wrapped in her big sister's hand.

" And you're not thinking deeply enough, imotou-chan. Looks like I win this round"

"Fine, you win. Now let me down"

"Hinata-sama? Hanabi-sama?"

Hinata turned around to see a branch family member walking towards them, however her hand stayed where it was, holding her sister suspended above the ground.

"Yes, Hikari-san? What is it?"

" I have just come from Hiashi-sama, he has looked at the notes you left him after your meeting last night."

"and..?" Hinata inquired.

" The conclusions you reached worried him greatly, he wants you to be present at this evening's meeting."

"What about me?" asked Hanabi from her upside down position.

" Hiashi-sama has only stated that Hinata-sama is to attend, you Hanabi-sama are to train with Neji-san, your father feels that you need to work on…strategy while you fight".

"Is this about the 12.."

"15" Hinata corrected, Hanabi glared at her.

" Fine, Is this about the _15_ times I've fallen for nee-san's rope trick?"

"I believe that was a factor…" Hikari began, when suddenly a shout ripped through the morning stillness.

"HIKARI!" the group turned towards the source of the noise, Elder Hanzaki.

" _Uh-oh, this can't be good_," thought Hinata

"Hai, Elder Hanzaki?" asked the young woman.

"My granddaughter has awoken, you will see to her at once. Instead of standing here gossiping, you should be attending to your duties."

"She wasn't gossiping Elder, she was delivering a message to my sister and I from our father." Hinata spoke up. A contemptuous "Humph!" came in response.

" And what did your little meeting last night accomplish, Hinata-sama? Another way to delay bringing my granddaughter's attacker to justice?"

" It accomplished more than the earlier meeting did, Elder, more than that I will reveal at the meeting this evening." Hinata replied calmly.

"Indeed! Well then, I shall be _eager_ to hear what you've uncovered."

" _Yes, Elder Hanzaki. I'm certain you will be"_ Hinata thought sarcastically, out loud she said " I'm eager to hear your thoughts on them Elder."

Elder Hanzaki gave a chuckle, then turned his face towards Hikari " Come as soon as you've finished your task, Hikari."

"At once sir"

"See that it is so" replied the Elder as he turned and walked back into the manor.

" You'd better go now Hikari-san, you wouldn't want to give him a reason to further his anger. Thank you for delivering the message"

"Indeed, Hinata-sama, and you're welcome." Hikari then bowed to the two heiresses and went swiftly in the direction Elder Hanzaki took a few moments before.

"Well, onee-san. Now that all of that is finished can you please…?" Hanabi began.

"Hinata-sama!"

"Yes, Sujiko-san?"

" I came to tell you that your breakfast is ready, and yours as well Hanabi-sama"

"Thank you Sujiko-san" With that Hinata let her little sister down, helped her to her feet and walked with her into the manor.



Elsewhere in the village, Hikaku and Hachico were holding an early morning conference to discuss two pieces of information, one of which could destroy their whole crusade.

"The White Lioness? Who could she be?" asked Hikara.

"Well, we know for a fact that its someone in the Main Branch of the clan, and we know that if she isn't taken out of the equation, then our crusade for justice will collapse before we reach our goal." Replied Hikaku.

"Well then, when we find out who it is, we give her a sound beating?" asked Hajiro

"No, if what Tatsuga-san said is correct and I have no reason to believe it isn't correct, then giving her a sound beating won't be enough. We'll have to kill her, whoever it is." replied Hachico

"What? Kill her? Kill a member of the main family? Hachico, do you realize exactly how much trouble that will cause? If we kill someone from the main house…"

"Enough Kajiko! There is no room in justice for a bleeding heart, so I suggest you put a bandage around yours" interrupted Hikara " Its not as if we're trying to kill the Hokage or someone like that."

"Hikara, you know as well as everyone else here, that if we kill someone from the main house, it's a death sentence for all of us."

"Enough you two!" shouted Furio " We'll tackle the issue of the White Lioness later, Hikaku, what was the other little piece of information you wanted to tell us?"

"Hyuuga Hikita has awaked."

"What? That little witch is awake already? She's tougher than I thought," said Hikara

"Yes, Hikara. And from what I hear, Elder Hanzaki is going to be on the war-path at tonight's meeting, looking to punish who is responsible for the attack."

"What? The old fart doesn't have any clue who it is does he?" asked Furio.

"No, more than likely he'll pick some poor random soul to torture" said Hikaku bitterly.

" But I heard that Hinata-sama held one of her meetings last night," spoke up Kajiko " maybe she's figured out the poem, and will convince the council to move cautiously"

"Really Kajiko, you think that the council is going to listen to the word of a mere girl?" asked Hachico contemptuously "No, even if she has managed to figure out the poem, no one on the council is going to follow her, she's too weak. Next thing you'll say is that she's this White Lioness we've learned about, which I don't believe for one moment for the exact same reason, she's too weak."

"But still!"

"Enough!" Shouted Hikaku. Everyone went silent.

" Whatever we do next, we can't move until we know what the main house's response is going to be" he looked around, meeting everyone in the eye " Which we will find out after this evening's meeting."



That evening, Hinata once again sat next to her father in the clan council chambers, but she wasn't going to be silent like in the last meeting. No, tonight she was on a mission, to convince the Elders of her clan that there was a hidden threat that was growing. To convince them that the attack on Hyuuga Hikita was just the opening volley, and rash action wouldn't solve anything. She looked at her father, who nodded and stood up to call the meeting to order.

" Good Evening, all of you. Tonight we will discuss what we shall do in regards to a response to the attack on Hyuuga Hikita, but first, before we get to that, my daughter would speak to you, in regards to the words on the scroll that was found at the scene of the attack."

Hinata stood up, bowed to her father and then the Elders, and began speaking.

" Clan Elders, thank you for listening to me, for I believe that the words on the scroll are connected to the attack on Hyuuga Hikita, Indeed I believe that they are connected to a hidden threat. The attack on Hyuuga Hikita was just the beginning, more will come."

"Just the beginning, Hinata-sama? There will be more attacks on the main branch?"

"Yes, there will be more attacks on the main branch. I believe that whatever we decide to do in response to the attack won't matter to the attacker, because whatever was blocking the attacker before isn't in his or her way anymore."

"So Hinata-sama, you're suggesting that we don't do anything?"

"No, Elder Hanzaki. I agree that action must be taken in response to the attack. However, rash action will only add fuel to the fire, and not accomplish anything."

" I believe you are confusing "swiftness" with "rashness" young one, swift action is the only way to approach this threat you speak of"

"How precisely can we attack a hidden threat swiftly? We don't even know who is responsible for the attack on Hyuuga Hikita Elder Hanzaki."

"She's correct about that Hanzaki" spoke up another Elder " Even though your granddaughter awoke today, we still have no clue as to who could have attacked her. Please Hinata-sama, tell us what you think we should do."

"Again I advise caution, we need to think through everything that we have learned thus far. We may need to gather more information…"

"Oh this is ridiculous! What information could we possibly need? My granddaughter was attacked; a branch family member was responsible. Now we need to remind the branch family who's really in charge here!" interrupted Elder Hanzaki.

"Elder Hanzaki, I don't believe it would be wise to punish the whole branch family for something only one person or even a few people did, that just shows that we didn't think this through and that we're just…"

"What do you know of wisdom, young one? You haven't been on this earth long enough to be considered wise. We have heard what you have to say, now please leave and let your betters decide what to do here."

"Hanzaki..maybe we should listen to.."

"No! I've heard enough conspiracy-mongering for one evening" He looked straight at Hinata " now then, I told you to leave, _child_"

Hinata felt a light tug at her sleeve, she met her father's eyes and a brief, silent conversation took place between them, at the end Hinata turned back towards the elders and bowed, thanking them for their time. She then walked out of the room.

" Now" Elder Hanzaki said, " lets get back to business"

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Hinata sighed and turned in the direction of her rooms, her heart heavy. With one thought occupying her mind "_I failed_".

She suddenly found herself face-to-face with a branch member who had been assigned guard duty for the meeting, Hinata recognized him as Hyuuga Hajiku, Sujiko's father.

"Hinata-sama" he placed a hand on one of her shoulders, Hinata looked up at him.

"Arigato, Hinata-sama"

This took her by surprise, "For what?" she asked

Hajiku smiled " For trying your best"

Hinata gave him a small smile before continuing on her way back to her rooms.



A/N: Chapter 7 up! Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed. It's very much appreciated! Please continue, and if you see anywhere that I need to make a change please let me know.


	8. Fanning the Flames

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinata sat in her small alcove, looking up at the nighttime stars, her thoughts on the meeting and Elder Hanzaki's words.

"_What do you know of wisdom, young one?"_

"…_Please leave and let your betters decide what to do here"_

" _Now then, I told you to leave, _child"

"Hinata-sama?"

Hinata turned around to see her cousin, Neji standing behind her. She avoided eye contact with him, she was so preoccupied with what she viewed as her failure to make the council see reason.

" Since you're here, am I correct in guessing that your attempt didn't go well?" Neji asked.

"It was going well for a few moments Neji-nii-san, but.." Hinata's voice trailed off into silence.

"What happened?"Neji probed.

"Guess"

"Elder Hanzaki?"

"Good guess, since its true"

Neji gave a deep sigh and moved to sit by his younger cousin " He didn't listen, did he?" Neji asked.

"No, he practically steamrolled me out of the meeting room. He's going to do something rash, I know it. I failed, nii-san. I failed and now someone will suffer and its all my…"

"No! It isn't your fault Hinata-sama" came a voice from behind them.

Hinata turned around once again to see Sujiko standing in the doorway leading to her room. Her face held a very serious expression.

" Hinata-sama, it isn't your fault Elder Hanzaki is nothing but a blind old man, it isn't your fault you couldn't make them see reason, and whatever punishment happens tomorrow most certainly isn't your fault."

" She's correct Hinata-sama" put in Neji " you did what you could, and by your own admission some Elders were listening to you. The fact that you got even one or two to listen to you speaks much of your abilities. The fact that Elder Hanzaki ran rough-shod over you is unfortunate, but expected."

"Regrettably so Hinata-sama" agreed Sujiko "he's one of the oldest Elders on the council. He has power over you. Don't be discouraged by what happened, the fact that you tried speaks well of you to the branch family."

Hinata looked at the two branch family members near her, letting their words sink in.

"Arigato, both of you."

" No problem…cousin" replied Neji. Hinata smiled at that, Neji rarely called her " cousin" instead using the title " –sama".

" Indeed" said Sujiko " since the path of convincing the Elder Council has failed, I have one important question for you, Hinata-sama. What are you going to do now?"

" Wait until the next attack on a main branch member happens, because trust me, there will be another one."

"If only the Elder Council could see that" mused Neji quietly, he then bid his cousin goodnight.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Hinata walked through the halls of her home, which was blanketed in the darkness of deep night. Suddenly she heard a low growl echoing through the halls, shattering the nights stillness. Strangely though, she didn't feel afraid of the growl. Indeed, an overwhelming desire to find the source of the noise came over her, and she set off in the direction of her rooms. _

_When she arrived, she found her room empty, but then the growl came again, this time louder. It was coming from her garden. She slid open the door leading to the small alcove where she had dinner with Neji and Sujiko. In her garden, its fur glistening in the moonlight, was a lioness._

_Hinata was astounded when she realized that the beautiful beast's fur was as white as new- fallen snow. It met her eyes and she immediately felt a connection with the magnificent creature, who was slowly making its way towards her._

_She bent down on one knee and held out her hand towards the lioness, this creature meant her no harm, why shouldn't she be friends with it?_

_The lioness was almost to her; she lifted up her great head and reached out towards her…_

" ONEE-SAN! WAKE UP!"

"Really Hanabi-sama, do you have to shout that loudly? You probably woke up people in the next province" came Neji's exasperated voice.

"How else was I supposed to wake her?"

"Ever tried shaking?"

Hinata recovered from her rather abrupt awakening, shaking her head to clear it. She looked towards the clock and was surprised to see that it was already time to get ready for early morning training. She quickly changed into her training attire and stepped out of her room to find her cousin and her little sister nose-to-nose with each other, or rather nose-to- stomach, since the 18-year old towered over the 10 year old.

"What good does shaking do? It takes longer"

"It also doesn't wake all of creation at the crack of dawn"

"You know as well as I that there are people in this part of the compound who are already awake Neji-san"

" Then please show courtesy to those in the other parts of the compound, _who are still attempting to sleep_."

" You don't have any authority to tell me anything Neji-san"

"Really? Well when we get to the training yard, I'll have the _authority_ to…"

Hinata decided to step in at that point "Is everyone ready for training?" she asked.

"Yes, Hinata-sama. Now that you're here we can head out"

"Excellent, come on imotou-chan"

Hanabi turned to look at her sister with a serious face "Don't think you can defeat me that easily onee-san, I won't fall for that little trick again."

"That's what you said the previous 15 times" Hinata replied calmly, Neji stifled a snigger.

"I won't fall for it this time onee-san! You just watch!" Hanabi declared before marching off in the direction of the training yard.

Neji and Hinata looked at each other "She will" they said in unison before following the younger Hyuuga.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hyuuga Hikari stood in a small-secluded courtyard in the compound along with the other 15 or so branch members, wondering why in the world they had all been summoned here this morning. Further reflection was cut short by the arrival of Elder Hanzaki, who stood on the small step leading to the courtyard. Hikari got the same uneasy feeling she always got whenever Elder Hanzaki was in close proximity.

"As you all know, my granddaughter Hyuuga Hikita was attacked recently. It has been agreed by the Elder Council that one if not more branch family members were responsible for this assault, which leads me to this one very important order. Whoever took part in this, step forward now!"

No one in the courtyard moved a muscle, or even dared to breathe. Hikari started trembling slightly in fear of what would happen next.

"I see…" said Elder Hanzaki, before he brought his hand up and formed the seal that was dreaded by all branch family members.

Hikari immediately clutched her head as her scream was joined by the others in the courtyard, every branch member present was on the ground, alternately screaming in pain and crying out for mercy.

After a minute or so, which felt like eternity to Hikari, Elder Hanzaki released the seal. He looked around as some branch family members tried to pick themselves up, while the rest just lay there moaning in agony.

" Let that be a warning to anyone else who dares to think of doing such things again in the future" he stated coldly as he turned and marched back into his apartments, leaving the groaning men and women to their own devices.

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It didn't take very long for news of Elder Hanzaki's punishment to sweep through the compound; soon every branch member was talking about the punishment.

"What is the main house thinking?"

"Have they gone mad? Torturing an entire group of branch family members?"

"I personally knew a few who were punished, none of them would even think of doing such a thing!"

" I heard Hinata-sama tried to make the Elder Council see reason, but they didn't listen to her"

"Yes, they completely dismissed her words"

"What is going on with this clan?"

In the training yard, Hinata took the news with a grim expression on her face

"_That old fool"_ she thought, "_this is precisely what I was warning him to __not__ do!"_

She shook her head to clear it, and looked into the anxious eyes of the young woman who had brought her the news.

" I see… thank you for bringing me this news."

" Of course Hinata-sama" came the reply. Hinata then dismissed her as she turned around and walked back to her cousin and little sister, who was once again suspended in mid-air.

" I can't believe it, I can't believe he actually took it this far." She said to Neji as she helped her little sister down.

" You knew he would do something Hinata-sama" Neji stated plainly.

"Yes, but even this shocks me, this is precisely what I cautioned him against at the meeting last night!" Hinata replied heatedly.

" Onee-san.." Hanabi began, before Neji cut her off.

"Hanabi-sama, there is a difference between punishment and brutality, remember that, if you fail to remember anything else."

He then looked towards the house, as Sujiko called out that breakfast was ready. He stepped to the side as Hanabi went towards the manor. He then looked towards Hinata, who was leaning on the rail with her head down.

" Hinata-sama" he called to get her attention, Hinata then turned and followed him into the house.

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"THAT BASTARD!" Hikara exclaimed as she destroyed yet another section of the wall with her foot.

"Damn, I didn't expect them to take it that far" Furio stated

"Really now?" asked Kajiko sarcastically " You didn't expect that the main branch would dish out punishment as severe as the attack? Imagine what would have happened if we had killed her!" he took a deep breath, then glanced around the room. "Who are we missing? He asked.

"Hikaku" answered Hachico " with news of the main branch's extreme measures, and on innocent people no less, this is the perfect time to gather more people to our cause."

"Gather more Hachico?" asked Kajiko incredulously " we'll be lucky if they don't turn him in when they find out he's part of the group that initiated the attack!"

"Quit being such an alarmist Kajiko, did we know the main branch would go to such extremes? No, we didn't. The main branch had the opportunity to do this the right way, trying to find us; but they didn't, they chose to exact punishment on innocent people. Hikaku will find someone who realizes this," said Hajiro.

"Indeed" said a voice, and the group turned as one to find Tatsuga sitting on one of the couches in the room.

"May I inquire as to what has happened to cause Hikara-san to create several large holes in the wall?" Tatsuga asked politely.

"Elder Hanzaki has punished all the branch members that serve his family for the attack on his granddaughter."

"My, my, what a cold-hearted old man" came the reply

"Indeed, and that's why our cause will succeed." Came Hikaku's voice as he stood in the doorway, but he wasn't alone. A young man stood next to him, anger flashing in his dark eyes.

"My I introduce the newest member of our crusade, Hyuuga Hijiki." Hikaku announced.

" So I see" stated Tatsuga, he walked up and bowed to the young man " I am Ishahiro Tatsuga" he said introducing himself.

"Tatsuga-san, I am honored" Hijiki replied, bowing in return.

"Come with me, and we'll take care of that troublesome seal" directed Tatsuga. Hijiki arched an eyebrow and followed Tatsuga out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later, the members of the crusade and their patron gathered around, some seated, some standing, to discuss recent events.

"This latest atrocity by the main branch cannot go unanswered" stated Hikaku " obviously the attack on Hyuuga Hikita failed to convey our message, which is 'we're not going to tolerate your brutal excesses anymore, we won't tolerate any more abuse' this message has fallen on deaf ears."

" So then, " spoke up Hachico " we need to continue our mission of justice"

" Do you have someone in mind?" asked Hikara

" I do" replied Hachico. He glanced around at everyone.

" I believe I have the perfect targets"

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A/N: Chapter 8! I'm on fall break at the moment, that's why the updates are so quick. Once school starts up again expect more of a delay between updates. Again thanks so much to everyone who read, reviewed, or added this to their favorite story list! Please continue doing so, and let me know if I need to make any tweaks to the chapter. Thanks again!


	9. The Second Strike

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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Later that afternoon, with the sun shining high in the sky, Hyuuga Sojiro and his best friend Hyuuga Kajuko were walking in a secluded section of the compound. The two main branch members were the pride of the clan, or at least the main branch, constantly receiving praise for their strength. At the moment however, their talk was on the recent attack and the subsequent punishment dished out by Elder Hanzaki.

" Thank goodness this whole incident is now over with" said Sojiro, " the attack on Hikita-chan was most brutal"

"Indeed, swift punishment was indeed needed, I don't really see what Hinata-sama was so worried about" replied Kajuko

"Oh, I heard that she's worried that the attack on Hikita-chan was just the beginning Kajuko"

"The beginning? What on earth is going on in…"? Sojiro turned at the sound of his friend's voice trailing off

"Kajuko? What's wrong?" he then noticed a group of four white-clad shinobi standing in the path, in their way.

" Move aside please," ordered Sojiro, the group didn't move.

"Hey! He told you to move aside!" said Kajuko, the group still didn't move.

Sojiro took a step forward, his face creased with annoyance " Who do you think you all are?" he demanded.

"Who do you two think you are to order us around?" came a gruff voice.

"I am Hyuuga Sojiro, and this is my best friend, Hyuuga Kajuko, we are members of the Main House of the Hyuuga clan as well as two of the strongest men in the clan" answered Sojiro " Who are all of you?"

"A small part of the group that will teach you Main branch bastards some manners" came one voice as its masked owner charged forward, catching Sojiro in the stomach.

"What the..?" said Kajuko as he turned to help his friend, only to be caught in the chin by another of the masked attackers; soon both men were facing off against 2 shinobi each.

"Damn it!" Sojiro growled as he charged his attackers, he caught one in the chin and sent him to the ground, with a smirk he turned to the second attacker, only to meet the one he just knocked down. Before Sojiro could even recover, the attacker drew a sword and in one sweep of the blade, created a huge gash in the young man's chest.

"Sojiro! ARRGH!" While Kajuko was momentarily shocked by the sight of his friend falling down, one of his attackers got him right in the abdomen with a Gentle Fist strike. Before he had even hit the ground, his attackers landed 5 more gentle fist strikes to his torso. When he finally hit the ground, he did not get back up.

"K-Kajuko.." Sojiro managed to cough out, before he was rendered unconscious by a fist to the head.

"Nice piece of work there" one attacker said to the other

"Yeah, about time these two got a beating. Sojiro especially" came the reply

"We better get out of here, I think I hear some people coming" spoke up a third

With that the foursome took off, leaving the two men lying on the ground

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A female branch family member raced through the halls of the main branch home, headed for the central courtyard where two young women were currently training.

"Hinata-sama! Hanabi-sama!" she cried out once she reached her goal.

Hinata's foot was paused about an inch from her sister's side; she let her foot down and jogged over to the woman, letting her catch her breath.

"What is it?"

"There has been another attack, on members of the Main Branch"

"Members? As in more than one victim this time?"

"Yes, Hinata-sama. Hyuuga Sojiro and Hyuuga Kajuko"

"Sojiro-san and Kajuko-san!?"

"Yes, Hinata-sama"

Hinata was stunned by what she had just learned, Sojiro and Kajuko weren't pushovers by any stretch of the imagination, if whoever was behind this was that strong…

"Anything else?"

"Yes, there is to be an emergency meeting in two hours, Hinata-sama. Your presence is wanted then."

"I see, what is the current condition of Sojiro-san and Kajuko-san?"

"Both of them are currently in critical condition, they are being treated now"

Hinata nodded then dismissed the young women, before turning to her cousin and little sister, who were looking at her with wide eyes.

"Another attack, Hinata-sama?"

"Yes, Hyuuga Sojiro-san and Hyuuga Kajuko-san were the victims this time"

Hanabi's eyes got even wider " Kajuko-san and Sojiro-san?" she asked

Yes, imotou-chan. which means that whoever is behind these attacks…"

"Hinata-sama!"called Sujiko's voice

"What is it Sujiko-san?"

"I have just come from your father, another attack was discovered!"

"What!?"

"Yes, Hinata-sama. This time its two female Main Branch members"

" _They're getting serious now"_ thought Hinata

"Also Hinata-sama, another scroll was found at the scene"

"Another scroll?"

"Yes Hinata-sama, your father said the contents would be revealed at the meeting"

"I see, thank you Sujiko"

Sujiko nodded and went off, leaving Hinata in the courtyard. Hinata tilted her head back and gazed up at the sky with her snow-white eyes.

"_Will my clan be able to ride this storm?"_

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Across the village, the conspirators were busy celebrating their latest strike of justice.

"Ha! I bet the main house will be trembling once they hear of how two of their mightiest have fallen!"Hachico cackled out

"Not to mention those two ladies my team took out, that'll show them that no one is safe from justice!" Hikara pointed out.

"I'm just worried about what the main branch's response will be to this" spoke up Kajiko, "you saw how severe their reaction the last time was"

"Will you give it a rest Kajiko? The main branch is running scared now; maybe they will realize the error of their ways. Of course we all know how likely that is" spoke up Hajiro

"They may be running scared Hajiro, but I doubt they will take the attacks as an opportunity to examine the way they do things" Hikaku spoke up quietly.

Hachico turned to his friend " you've been awfully quiet Hikaku, what's on your mind?" he asked

Hikaku turned to the assembled group " I think it's about time that I have a little bit of personal justice"

Hachico eyes widened, " you mean…?" he began

"Yes," answered Hikaku " Its time my sister's death was dealt with"

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The meeting room was in frenzy when Hinata walked in, Elders shouted at one another, one or two had panicked expressions on their faces. Suddenly one voice sounded out above the rest.

"SILENCE!!!!!", the voice came from Hiashi and at his voice the whole room became silent.

"Everyone, please calm yourselves. Sit down and we will discuss these recent events"

Elder Hanzaki stood up and in his usual booming voice said, " Hiashi-sama, these attacks are unspeakable, why are we even here discussing them? Obviously the last reminder didn't do any thing…"

"Elder Hanzaki! Enough! We will discuss these events and decide on a proper course of action. Sit down"

Hanzaki did so, but he was still ready to battle.

"Now then, as you all undoubtedly know, there have been attacks on four more main branch members, two female and two male. I have received news that they are currently stable but in critical condition."

Hiashi looked around at the assembled Elders " Furthermore, it would appear that these attacks are connected with the earlier attack on Hyuuga Hikita. There was a scroll found at the scene of the second attack."

"Oh please! Another one of those fake scrolls? What does that have to do with..?"

"Elder Hanzaki, I'm warning you, one more interruption and I will have you escorted from the room"

After Hanzaki quieted down, Hiashi unrolled the scroll; allowing everyone in the room to view what was written within.

Between midnight's peace and the morning dew

Justice shall come seeking you

Your crimes are great, your sins abound

But we will give you a just reward with the freedom we've found

Your cruelty has aroused our ire

None shall escape our burning fire

Hinata felt her stomach turn into a block of ice, the words echoed in her mind until she swore it roared with them.

"_Your cruelty has aroused our ire,"_ she read quietly in her mind "_It seems that Elder Hanzaki's punishment had the exact opposite reaction than what he thought would happen. "_

Murmurings were heard amongst the Elders, some were speaking to others, while some were pointing at the scroll.

Elder Hanzaki, however, had other thoughts

"Really, Hiashi-sama. Can we stop with the dramatics and start talking about what we are going to do in response to these attacks!? They can't go unpunished!"

"Elder Hanzaki" came Hinata's quiet voice. All eyes turned to the young woman as she coolly met the Elder's gaze.

"If I recall, Elder Hanzaki, you dismiss the last scroll as utter nonsense as well. You also dismissed me when I asked for caution, look where that has lead us. Two more attacks and the branch family in fear that we, The Main Family, will torture yet another group of innocent people for something they had no part in! Your punishment may have even convinced some to join this group!"

"Silence child, you are in no position to question the wisdom of your elders and betters"

"Wait, Hanzaki" came a voice from the corner of the room. It came from an old man in traditional robes, unlike Hanzaki however, this man held a venerable expression.

"Why don't you sit down, and let the child speak Hanzaki? She seems to have as clear a grasp as can be had on this situation, perhaps she can aid us elders in finding a permanent solution to this crisis."

" Elder Kazuki, surely you don't mean listen to this child who seems content to slow everything down to a crawl?"

"Why not? None of us are to old to learn"

"Elder Kazuki, I respect your view, but what we need now is action, not pretty words.

This came from a black-haired man, whose hair was flecked with grey, giving him a badger-like appearance

" But Elder Noburu, Hinata-sama speaks with great clarity, perhaps we should…"

"No! I will hear no more conspiracy theories from a mere child!" Elder Hanzaki shouted, sending the room into an uproar.

" She is no child! She's 15!"

"I say let her speak! She may have some useful insights!"

"She is to young to have a say in these matters!"

" What insights can a 15 year-old girl have that could be useful to us?"

"ENOUGH!"

Hiashi slammed his fist into the paneling beside him, causing a wide crack and breaking his skin. Taking several deep breaths, he turned to Elder Hanzaki.

"How did this conversation get to this point? It seems to me that you are the one interrupting the process Elder Hanzaki" He turned from Hanzaki's bright-red face and addressed the other council members " It would seem these attacks are starting to turn us against each other, as such I will adjourn the meeting now and we will continue this discussion tomorrow. That is all!"

With that the council filed out one by one, Hinata was among the last to leave along with her father. Soon only two people were left in the room.

"Elder Noburu, surely you can see that Hanzaki's tactics will only fracture the clan?"

"Elder Kazuki, I respect your wisdom, but now is not the time to waste anymore precious moments. I want this crisis nipped in the bud before it becomes a major problem."

With that Elder Noburu excused himself and left the room, Elder Kazuki let out a deep sigh and followed him out.

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The night sky was unnaturally dark, clouds covered both moon and stars as a lone figure stood on top of a roof in the Hyuuga compound. The figure stared down the path that he knew the one whom he wished to meet would take. Rage filled his pupil-less eyes. Eyes that, at the moment, rivaled the sky in darkness.

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A/N: Chapter 9 finally up! Sorry I took so long everyone! School is getting a little crazy now, and I'm up to my ears in work. I may try and get another chapter in this week but don't count on it. I have an exam and a 6-8 page paper due this week. Again thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! As always, please read and review, let me know where I can improve. Thanks again!


	10. A Sibling's Justice

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

_Hinata walked along the paths of the compound, which were blanketed in pure darkness, there were no stars and the moon's light didn't shine on the path before her. Curious, she continued her trek along the dark path. Suddenly, a lion's roar pierced the night, but unlike the lioness, this sound struck fear into her very bones. She turned to see a huge black lion bearing down on her, its eyes seemed to be made of living flame. Fearing she was about to die, Hinata braced herself for the impending threat, but the lion flew straight passed her. Startled, she turned to see the lion was attacking an old falcon. The falcon was putting up a good fight, but was no match for the lion's strength and the flames of his eyes scorched and burned the old beast. As Hinata moved to aid the falcon, she felt strong jaws clamp themselves on her shoulder. It was the white lioness. The white beast, with Hinata firmly secured in its powerful jaws, fled the area, as the cries of pain from the old falcon echoed in her ear along with the thunder crashing in the night sky…_

Hinata sat bolt upright in her bed, her body covered in a thin sheen of sweat, panting she realized that someone was pounding on her door, frantically. Activating her Byakugan and turning towards the door, she saw that it was Sujiko. She looked at the time; it was 2:30 am.

"What on earth?" Hinata wondered as she made her way swiftly towards the door. Upon opening the door, she was startled to see that Sujiko's face had a look of pure abject horror on her face.

"S-Sujiko-san? What has happened" Hinata asked the very shaken woman.

"Its horrible, Hinata-sama! Just horrible! Oh, what will become of this? Will another of the branch family have to die?"

"Calm down Sujiko, what has happened?"

"I-It's Elder Noburu, Hinata-sama. He was found dead, murdered!"

"WHAT!?" Hinata was stunned. "A clan elder? Murdered? How? When?"

" I do not know Hinata-sama, I was awakened by one of the guards who gave me a message from your father to inform you of the situation…Hinata-sama, are you all right? You look pale, almost white"

"I-Its nothing Sujiko-san, I just had a very realistic dream. Does the rest of the compound know about this?"

"They will come morning" came the prompt reply

"I see, thank you Sujiko-san, you may go"

"But Hinata-sama, you still seem quite pale, are you certain you don't want me to stay?"

"Yes, I'm fine Sujiko-san"

"Very well, Hinata-sama"

As soon as Sujiko had left Hinata gazed up at the black night sky, one thought coursing through her head.

"_As soon as morning comes, all hell is going to break loose"_

She then sat down on her bed to think recent events through, the news of Elder Noburu's death having effectively killed her sleep.

* * *

Across town, the one responsible for the coming uproar was just arriving at his group's headquarters.

"Why hello Hikaku, did you accomplish your mission?" asked Hachico

" Yes, Hachico. The man responsible for my dear sister's death…is no more"

"No more? You mean you…?" Kajiko asked wide-eyed.

" Yes Kajiko, I killed him, I killed the murdering piece of trash"

"A murdering piece of trash who just happens to be a Main Branch member! Hikaku, do you realize what you have done!?"

"Of course Kajiko, I have finally exacted justice on the scum responsible for taking away the one family I had left after my parents died"

"You killed a Main Branch Member!" Do you realize how much hell that's going to cause!?"

"Kajiko, this is exactly what our little group is about, justice, righting wrongs. If that requires us to take someone's life then so be it" Hikaku answered with an icy edge to his voice.

"He's right Kajiko" put in Hikara " sometimes those who bring justice to others have to do unpleasant things, we can't let the fact that our targets are members of the Main House get in the way of justice."

"Hikara, I'm worried that our 'justice' is slowly giving way to vengeance, how long will it be before we attack someone in the Main Family who has never hurt anyone in the Branch Family?"

"Kajiko, don't speak such foolishness. Everyone in the Main Family has done something to hurt someone in the Branch Family, they are all guilty in some form or fashion, don't let that bleeding heart of yours blind you to the truth of things" said Furio.

"While this conversation is highly interesting, I want to bring up a note of concern" spoke up Hachico. Everyone in the room turned to him.

"The White Lioness, has anyone been able to figure out who it could be? As long as she is still alive then our crusade for justice is in serious jeopardy."

"I haven't been able to find anything," answered Hikara

"Nor I" said Furio

"Negative on my end" replied Hikaku

"Nothing" said Kajiko, everyone else made similar comments.

"We must find out who the lioness is!" declared Hachico, " while she still breathes, our plan could fall apart!"

"Everyone, you must be especially vigilant in the coming days," said Hikaku " when we find out who the White Lioness is, mark her for death."

Hachico looked up at the assembled avengers " With her dead, the Main House will be powerless to halt the flood of justice that comes toward them. We will sweep through them like a fire through dry grass"

"What of the Hokage?" asked Kajiko, " if the Hokage gets involved, things could turn ugly for us real quick"

"Even if the Hokage does get involved, she can't make any moves against us. The Main Branch doesn't even know who we are! We will reveal ourselves when our crusade is complete" replied Hikaku

"When will that be?" asked Hajiro

"When our crusade against the Main Branch is fulfilled"

* * *

The sun rose over a very busy sight in the Hyuuga Compound, news of Elder Noburu's death had sent shockwaves through the entire compound. Every member of the clan, Main and Branch was talking about the murder.

"I can't believe it"

"Elder Noburu? Dead?"

" A Main Family member has been killed!? Oh hell…"

"Which of us will be next?"

"When will this terror end?"

"What is the Main House going to do?"

Hinata was still reeling from the news of Elder Noburu's murder; all training had been put off for that morning. She next to her Father on one of the porches of her home, her mind trying to make sense of what was becoming to her a series of strategic strikes against the Main Family.

"Well Hinata, it seems that this mysterious group has started to kill rather than attack, do you think this will be the only death in the Main Family?" Hiashi asked his eldest child.

"No Father, I fear that from now on, there will be a combination of attacks and deaths." replied Hinata.

" What I can't understand though, is why? Why are they attacking us now? What has happened to allow this to occur?" Hiashi mused aloud.

"_Indeed,"_ thought Hinata _"What has happened?"_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud booming voice echoing from the front of her home.

"_And here comes old war-hawk himself"_ thought Hinata

"HIASHI-SAMA! HIASHI-SAMA!"

" I'd better go and quiet him before he breaks something" muttered Hiashi as he stood up and walked into the house, Hinata following at a slightly slower pace.

"Yes, Elder Hanzaki. What is it?" Hiashi's calm question only seemed to infuriate the already furious Elder further.

"WHAT IS IT!? I'LL TELL YOU 'WHAT IS IT'; AN ELDER OF THIS CLAN HAS BEEN BRUTALLY MURDERED! I WANT TO KNOW WHEN WE WILL BE GATHERING TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS OUTRAGE!" Hanzaki roared. His furious gaze found Hinata, who was standing behind her father.

" Leave us at once child, this matter is nothing that someone of your age can handle, leave it to those who are not clouded by the inexperience of youth. I don't need your petty conspiracy mongering right now."

"Elder Hanzaki," stated Hiashi firmly " Look at what has happened recently, your granddaughter and four members of the Main Family have been viciously attacked, and a clan elder has been murdered. How on earth can these events be separate from each other?"

"Not you as well Hiashi-sama! I seem to be surrounded by theorists, instead of leaders"

"That will do Elder Hanzaki!" Hiashi stated angrily," There will be a meeting in three hours to discuss this most recent event, and trust me, we will _thoroughly_ discuss it."

Elder Hanzaki gave a contemptuous " humph!" before spinning around and stomping out of the house; slamming the door behind him so hard it ripped the screen.

"Oh dear, and I liked that print too" stated Hinata calmly. Hiashi turned towards his daughter.

"Hinata, I want you to be at the meeting. With this most recent attack, our clan's stability is severely compromised. I need someone there that can see from all angles."

"Won't Elder Hanzaki object to that?" asked Hinata

"Don't worry about him, I'll see to it that you stay in there from start to finish, I hope that whatever we decide to do will curb these attacks."

"I fear that it is already to late for that father"

"Hmm, what do you mean Hinata?"

" I mean that it's already to late to hope to curb these attacks, with the death of Elder Noburu, I fear that whatever has already begun will only continue to grow"

* * *

Chapter 10 up finally! Sorry guys, I've been up to my ears in schoolwork. I'm on break now so hopefully I can get a couple more chapters in before school starts back up. Thank you all for being so patient and for reading and reviewing my work, I really appreciate it!


	11. Roaring Anger and Unheard Wisdom

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Hinata sat quietly in the council room beside her father, her mind attempting to sort out recent events, no small feat considering every elder present was talking frantically to another in a loud voice, with Elder Hanzaki shouting his view occasionally in his usual booming voice. Finally her father shouted for the room to come to order.

" SILENCE! Silence please! Everyone please sit yourselves, and we will begin to discuss this most recent, and immensely tragic, event."

"Event? You speak to lightly Hiashi-sama, what has happened isn't an 'event', its an outrage!" spoke up Elder Hanzaki.

"Elder Hanzaki, you should know the protocol by now. Do not interrupt a speaker, violate that protocol one more time and I will be forced to eject you from the meeting." Hiashi stated coldly. Elder Hanzaki sat down reluctantly, though he was still fuming.

" As I was saying, we will begin to discuss this most tragic event. Gentlemen, we cannot act rashly here, recently we have seen an alarming trend cropping up in our clan. Main Family members have been brutally attacked, and Elder Noburu is no longer with us. Any thoughts on the current situation?"

" I noticed that you referred to the attacks as a _trend_ Hiashi-sama, you mean to say that you believe all these attacks are connected in some way?" asked one Elder.

"Yes, I do indeed believe so," replied Hiashi

"And I agree with him" spoke up Hinata; internally bracing herself for an outburst from Elder Hanzaki, she was not disappointed.

"What? What are you doing here child? This matter is for your father and us elders to resolve, it is far beyond your ability to contribute anything to this discussion."

"Elder Hanzaki, my daughter is here for three reasons. 1. Because I asked her to be here. 2. Tradition dictates that the eldest child of the clan head is to be present at all official meetings. 3. I want to hear _all_ views before I come to any conclusion on this matter. Hinata, please continue."

"Arigato, Father." Hinata said as she turned towards the Elders.

"Clan Elders, I agree with what my father says, that these attacks are indeed connected to each other. In my eyes, the scrolls that were found at the scene of two attacks are both the links between the attacks and the clues that we need to figure out the motives of these assailants. If you will recall, the word justice is featured in both scrolls, as are references to anger at the Main House. It is no secret that there are those in the Branch Family who despise us, some are open while others are more covert in their hatred of us. Now, however, we have actual attacks on Main Family members. The nature of all of the attacks indicated that whoever it was that perpetrated the attacks held great rage against those who were attacked."

"How does this aid us in figuring out the motives of the assailants Hinata-sama?"

"To answer your question, Elder Kazuki, lets look at each of the victims in turn, starting with Hyuuga Hikita-san. Hikita-san has a reputation among the branch family for activating the curse seal for even minor offences. The two women who were attacked soon after also had the same reputation. Sojiro-san and Kajuko-san, while not known for activating seal frequently, are very well regarded by the Main Family for their strength, perhaps they were attacked because they have come to symbolize everything that these people despise about us. Why were these people attacked? I think the answer is obvious, each one has done something to the Branch Family or they have become symbols of the Main Branch. Finally, Elder Noburu is most well known for an incident that happened two years before I was born, that resulted in the death of a young branch family member."

"So you are saying, Hinata-sama, that the reasoning behind these attacks is purely vengeance?"

" The reasoning behind these attacks are, at least in the eyes of the perpetrators, is that they are bringing justice to the Main Family for everything that they have done"

"Hinata-sama, do you think that there will be an end to these attacks in the near future?"

"No, I do not. I think these attacks will continue until whoever started this whole mess is satisfied that 'justice' has been served on the Main Branch or until we can find out exactly who it is that is behind all of this."

"But why are they attacking us now Hinata-sama?"

"That I do not know, I have not been able to figure out exactly what could have been the catalyst for these attacks. However, I do know that some sort of barrier has been removed, which prevented them from doing anything before. The big question we need to ask ourselves is, what is, or rather what was, the barrier? How was it removed? Was it someone inside the clan, or outside? We need to know these things before any permanent solution can be found to this crisis."

"You seem to have thought all of this out very thoroughly Hinata-sama, my question to you is, what definite conclusions have you come to?"

"That while these attacks are indeed perpetrated by members of the branch family, its only a very small group who are actually doing this, the rest of the branch family doesn't wish anything to cause trouble, they know what that leads to. However, this small group has done a very good job keeping a low profile, we still don't have any clue as to who on earth could be apart of this group. Until we know that, our hands are basically tied from providing a permanent solution to this crisis, anything rash that we do will only encourage some to join this group. The attacks will continue until everyone in the main branch has either been attacked or killed."

"So you are saying, Hinata-sama, that at this particular moment, even with all the information we have found, we are powerless to stop this group?"

" Essentially yes, Elder Kazuki"

Murmurs greeted this final statement, the Elders of the Hyuuga Clan prided themselves on being able to make swift, decisive decisions, any situation where they could do nothing made them very nervous. There was much talking amongst the Elders, trying to find a way to refute what Hinata just said, but none of them could. Except for one. Elder Hanzaki, who remarkably had remained silent until now, spoke up.

" Hinata-sama, I must say that you have come to some rather remarkable conclusions, very well thought out. The only problem is that it's … ALL A LOAD OF PURE NONSENSE!" Everyone in the room jumped at the sound of Hanzaki yelling.

"Just look at all of you! Worrying yourselves over some petty theory! We are of the Main House! We represent the pure blood of our clan! We are the strongest! The ones destined to rule! We can solve this problem, which to me isn't some theory to be tossed around! It's a clear-cut case of some upstart branch members challenging our authority and thinking they can get away with it! All this theorizing about their motives is an utter waste of time! To me their motive is clear, they think they are better than us and can do anything. I say swift action is needed now, we must show that the attack on our fellow Elder will not go unanswered!"

Hinata knew what was happening, Elder Hanzaki couldn't refute what she said, so he was resorting to what he did best, rousing the Elder's emotions an pride, they were spooked by what she said, so he recited things that would make them feel better, more sure of themselves.

"_This is bad,"_ thought Hinata "_if this continues, something rash is going to be done"_

"Elder Hanzaki! How can we answer the attack on Elder Noburu? We have absolutely no clue whatsoever who is responsible for the murder!"

"We cannot let this outrage go unpunished Hinata-sama! To do so would disgrace Elder Noburu's memory!"

"I agree that this murder must be answered with justice, however I _do not_ agree that we should go randomly picking innocent people to punish! That will only encourage more attacks against us! We must find a way to find out exactly who is in this group, and who among this group was the one who committed the murder, and that will take time."

"Time that we do not possess, Hinata-sama! You said yourself that the attacks will continue until something is done! We must administer a punishment so harsh that whoever is in this group will be frightened into discontinuing their assault!"

"If these attacks have taught me anything Elder Hanzaki, its that this group isn't the type that's easily frightened or the type that will stop if we do something rash. Quite the opposite, it will only encourage them to launch more attacks against us and possibly encourage more people to join them!"

" How can you pretend to understand these people Hinata-sama? You don't even know who they are!"

"The scrolls that you dismissed provided the insight…"

" TO HELL WITH THOSE BLASTED SCROLLS! THEY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CONNECTION WHATSOEVER TO THIS ATTACK ON OUR AUTHORITY! THIS CRISIS MUST BE DEALT WITH NOW!"

" That cannot happen Elder Hanzaki! Not when there are too many unanswered questions!"

" WHAT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS!? ALL THE QUESTIONS I NEEDED ANSWERS TOO HAVE ALREADY BEEN GIVEN! NOW IS THE TIME TO REMIND THE BRANCH FAMILY WHO IS THE REAL POWER IN THIS CLAN!"

"We cannot interpret the actions of a few troublemakers as reflecting the feelings of the entire branch family! That will only fracture the clan even more than these events already have!"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR BLASTED CONSPIRACY MONGERING!"

Hinata just barely had time turn her head enough to dodge a chakra-infused hand aimed right at her shoulder, her head collided with the wall even as her shoulder stung from the chakra hitting it with great force, even though Hanzaki's hand never actually touched her.

The whole room went suddenly quiet. Elder Hanzaki had attacked someone during a council meeting, worse, that someone was the eldest child of the Head of the Clan. He had just violated one of the most important rules of the clan, the clan council room was a neutral area, no one was to attack anyone while a council meeting was in session. Hiashi slowly stood up, his face livid.

"Guards!" he called, two branch family members swiftly came.

"Yes, Hiashi-sama?"

"Please escort Elder Hanzaki from the Council room at once"

"Yes, sir"

Elder Hanzaki gazed at Hiashi, then quietly left the room.

"Now" said Hiashi when Elder Hanzaki had left. "You all have heard everything, is there anything else anyone would like to add?" Utter silence greeted this question.

"Well then, what do you think we should do here?"

Half the room wanted to remind the branch family; the other half was too stunned by what had happened to say anything. For the first time, the Elder Council of the Hyuuga Clan was deadlocked. They were completely unable to come to a decision.

Hiashi sighed, " We will convene again in two days, hopefully we can come to a decision then." At this the Elder Council filed out quietly, with Hinata and her father bringing up the rear.

"Hinata, how about you train with Naruto tomorrow? Perhaps a change in scenery from the compound will provide some new insights for you."

"Perhaps Father, I will send him a note tonight"

"And get your wounds treated too"

"Of course"

With that Hinata turned and made her way towards her rooms, as she turned the corner she was greeted with the sound of running feet. It was Sujiko.

"Hinata-sama! My father told me what happened! Are you all right?"

"Just a little banged up Sujiko-san, and a bit shaken."

" Lets continue to your rooms Hinata-sama, I'll get my brother to see to your injuries."

"While you're doing that, please send a message to Naruto, telling him I wish to meet for training again"

"Of course Hinata-sama"

Nothing more was said as the two women walked towards their destination.

* * *

Across the village, two pairs of angry white eyes stared up at the nighttime sky.

"Did you hear? About what happened at the meeting?"

"Yes, Hachico. It seems Elder Hanzaki's temper has finally gotten the better of him"

"So what now Hikaku? Who is going to be our next target?"

"I don't know who we will attack next, Elder Hanzaki is definitely on my list of people to go, but not right now."

"Hmm, I know!"

" Yes?"

Hachico looked at his friend with a gleam in his eye.

"How about…Hinata-sama?"

* * *

Chapter 11 up! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, placed this story on story alert, and placed it in favorites! I really appreciate it guys! I'll try and get more chapters up before I have to focus on my finals. Thanks again so much!


	12. The Bond of Friendship

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

The next day saw Hinata and Naruto walking quietly to their regular training spot, or rather Hinata was walking quietly, Naruto was talking.

"Anyway, Hinata, I hope your ready for this, cause I've been working on some really sneaky traps since we last talked, there is no way you're going to trick me into going into them."

"Mmhmm" replied Hinata, her mind elsewhere.

"Oi Hinata! You in there?" asked Naruto as he tapped the top of her head.

"Huh? Oh, gomen Naruto-kun. My mind was elsewhere"

"So..." Naruto looked around to see if they were alone " how was that little problem? Is it all taken care of now?"

Hinata looked at Naruto, debating whether or not to tell him about the crisis that had befallen her clan. She decided to go ahead and tell him.

"I'm afraid that the little problem is now not so little anymore." She went on to tell Naruto everything that had happened since their training had been interrupted.

"And the word to tell the Hokage hasn't been given down yet?" asked Naruto

"No, it hasn't Naruto-kun" came the quiet reply

"Hinata, you know that you won't be able to keep this a secret from Granny Tsunade forever, sooner or later something is gonna happen that's going to alert her to what's happening in your clan, the fact that you have been able to hide this from her for this long is incredible in and of itself."

" I know, Naruto-kun, but please. Let my clan handle this."

"Okay Hinata, I promise. But if Granny Tsunade gets wind of this, all bets are off."

By this point they had arrived at their designated training area, Naruto turned to Hinata and grinned deviously.

"Catch me if you can Hinata!" With that he vanished into the surrounding trees.

Activating her Byakugan, Hinata took off in the direction that Naruto had gone. She had only gone a few feet when her eyes detected one of Naruto's creations. It was a simple rope trap, triggered by a trip wire, designed to hook her by the ankle and leave her hanging in the air, an easy thing to work around; or so she thought. As Hinata stepped carefully around the first wire her eyes detected a second and third wire near her left wrist and right ankle. She had walked straight into a three-way trap.

"_This isn't going to be easy,"_ Hinata thought as she took stock of her situation. Backing up very carefully, she thought a bit, then came up with what she hoped was a way to dodge all three traps. Using a kunai knife she cut the first wire, sending the rope sailing upwards with nothing in the loop. To her surprise, the second and third wires snapped a few seconds after the first wire had been cut, forcing her to jump straight up, the one place she hadn't noticed any traps. When she looked up however she saw a net coming straight at her, gathering chakra into her hands, making them like knives, she cut the net clean in two.

"Hehehe, almost got you that time Hinata, lets see how far your good luck is going to last."

Panting, Hinata grinned up at Naruto's smiling face before it quickly disappeared. She took off after Naruto, however, before she had gotten 20 meters a wire trap caught her eye, following it with her eyes she was shocked to discover that the wire was connected to a paper bomb.

"Naruto-kun? When did you decide to use paper bomb traps?" Hinata called out.

"Huh? I didn't set up any paper bomb traps" came the confused reply.

Movement to her right caught Hinata's attention, and four figures clad in white stepped out of the trees.

"And I suppose having four extra people wasn't in your plan as well?" Hinata asked.

Naruto appeared right beside her, a very confused expression on his face.

"That definitely wasn't in my plan" he told her, he then turned towards the group of four.

"Who are you guys? What the heck is going on?"

The tallest one stepped forward. " We are of the Hyuuga Clan, and we wish to speak with Hinata-sama, please leave."

Hinata stepped forward, only to be stopped by the outstretched arm of Naruto.

"Whatever it is you need to say in front of Hinata, you can say in front of me as well. What is it you want?"

"We are a group within the Hyuuga who wish to change our clan for the better, we recognize that those who are apart of the Main Branch are arrogant and out of control. Its time that they were made to answer for their crimes." Hinata's eyes widened.

"Are the four of you a part of the group that has been perpetrating such violent attacks on the Main Branch recently?"

"We are indeed, we will bring justice to you arrogant Main Branch members and instill true peace within the Hyuuga Clan"

"Wait a sec, just how do you intend to do that? So far all you guys have done is cause pain for both houses." Spoke up Naruto.

"Be silent foolish Genin, this is none of your concern, but to answer your question. We intend to attack and in some cases kill every single member of the Main Family. We know things will not change with the current ruler. Hiashi is raising one daughter to be a cold, harsh leader like him, and the daughter before us is so weak it's pathetic. Yet as the eldest child of the clan head, she is a symbol of everything that the main branch has become, weak, corrupt, arrogant, and out of control in their brutality."

At this Naruto laughed aloud " Are we talking about the same girl here? Because the Hinata I know isn't weak, or corrupt, or arrogant, and she has to be the kindest soul I know. What could she have possibly done to the branch family? She wants to help them!"

"Stupid fool, everyone in the main family is guilty of some crime or another against the branch family. Anyone who believes the false hope this little witch is perpetuating is lying only to themselves and is utterly blind to the truth."

"Just hold on a moment," said Hinata " What makes you think you can get away with this? Surely Elder Hanzaki's punishment pointed out the one obstacle in your plan. How can you gain justice against the main family when you can't even get around the cursed seal?"

"What on earth gave you the idea we haven't?" Hinata's eyes widened as suddenly, the first poem came screaming back to her _" A door_ _has been opened"_, her heart pounding, she finally realized what the words meant.

"Y-you m-mean, y-you all h-have f-found a way around the cursed seal!?" Hinata asked incredulously.

That's right you main branch witch, the seal longer ties us. So you are powerless against us!" With that he charged forward, a chakra-laced hand aimed straight for Hinata's heart. Only to be met by Naruto colliding into his side, sending him tumbling into the branches below.

Naruto turned towards the remaining three, " If you want to attack Hinata, you'll have to fight me too!"

Naruto jumped back and stood beside Hinata " Keep an eye out for any other traps in the area Hinata, these guys mean business."

"Naruto-kun! Leave while you still can! This isn't your fight!" Hinata told him with desperation in her voice. She'd never be able to forgive herself if one of her closest friends got hurt because of the hatred in her clan.

"Like hell it isn't! There's no way I'm gonna leave one of my friends to take the rap for something that isn't her fault!"

"Naruto-kun…"

"Look sharp Hinata! Here they come!"

Naruto took on two of the charging shinobi, while Hinata faced off against the third.

"Byakugan!" the three cried out in unison, the two Naruto was fighting dropped into Gentle Fist stances. The one facing Hinata however, drew two swords from his sides and from the way he handled them, Hinata knew that he was an expert, a sword master.

"This will be over with quickly little witch," the swordsman growled at Hinata, who frowned and drew her tanto and a kunai knife. The swordsman laughed aloud.

"You really think that you can defeat a master swordsman with just a tanto and a kunai? You fool! I'll teach you what true strength is!" he cried as he charged towards the heiress. He struck with a powerful slice towards Hinata's abdomen, only to be blocked by the tanto, Hajiro smirked beneath his mask, sending his other sword knifing towards her heart, but this was blocked by the kunai in Hinata's other hand. Hinata glared at her opponent.

" Do not assume that just because you have swords, that you will find me an easy target. I have changed much since I was a genin."

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was facing off against the two who were using plain gentle fist attacks.

" You may have gotten lucky against Neji kid, but luck isn't going to save you this time!" With that the two charged towards him, they expected him to stand his ground, but instead he leaped upwards and darted into the trees.

"Come back here you arrogant little…!" said one, only to be caught by the shoulder by his partner.

"Wait, Hachico!" he whispered urgently, " he may have some plan up his sleeve!"

" Don't be an idiot Hikaku! He's a dropout! Even if he has trained with Jiraiya-sama, that old pervert probably didn't do much!"

With that, the two dashed off into the woods after Naruto, failing to notice, even with the Byakugan, the shadow clone that had overheard everything they had said. Once they had taken off, the shadow clone dispersed himself. Some distance away, Naruto opened his eyes " Hachico and Hikaku, eh?" he mused. Then he focused on the plan he had come up with, going higher and higher into the trees.

"I've got you now!" crowed Hachico triumphantly as Naruto turned around to face him. Naruto smirked, hopped down, and unveiled a mirror he had concealed. Which was now conveniently right in the path of the sun, reflecting it straight into Hachico's eyes. Hachico cried out in pain as the solar rays hit his eyes dead on, the pain so great it forced him to deactivate his bloodlimit. Naruto smirked, it was exactly what he wanted to happen, and he didn't wait long to strike. The minute Hachico had deactivated his Byakugan; Naruto charged in from below catching him right on the chin with a right uppercut then sending him sailing into the branches below with a stiff left. He disappeared into the trees to wait for the second one. Hikaku came racing in and turned his body so that the mirror didn't hit his eyes, but he didn't count on Naruto sailing above him and pulling the branches aside to allow the sun itself to shine on his eyes, once his Byakugan was deactivated Naruto drop-kicked him in the stomach, then grabbed his arms and threw him into Hachico who had just gotten up. The two Hyuuga shinobi flew down to the ground, activating their own traps and setting off the paper bombs they were attached to.

" _That should get the ANBU here quickly"_ thought Naruto _" now I need to go help Hinata"_ He then took off in the direction where his friend was fighting.

* * *

Hinata stood facing off against Hajiro, neither of them moved. Hinata knew she was in a bad position, her opponent had superior weapons and skill, and she knew by the amount of killing intent coming from the man that he was in no mood to talk.

"Its time to finish this!" Hajiro cried out as he charged Hinata, his attacks came smoothly, always in perfect balance, his twin swords working independently yet in perfect unison with each other. One blade never got in the way of the other, Hajiro came at Hinata from inside and out wide, from the left and the right, choosing impossible angles from which to attack the young heiress, yet by some miracle Hinata managed to block or dodge every attempt by her opponent to land a hit. But she knew she couldn't keep it up forever.

"_He's too strong"_ Hinata thought_" I'm having a hard time breathing yet he's barely breathing hard at all! His form is too good! It's perfect…wait a moment!"_

Hinata's thoughts turned towards a training session she once hadwith Hajiku, who was himself an accomplished swordsman.

_**Flashback**_

"_**Hinata-sama, you have done well in learning how to wield a tanto"**_

"_**Arigato, Hajiku-san. You have been a great teacher"**_

"_**Hahaha! I am by no means a master Hinata-sama, but there is one more important lesson that I must impart to you. Two more important lessons actually"**_

"_**Two more?"**_

"_**Yes, the first one is: When your opponent is stronger than you are, you don't try to match his strength. Defeat him by out maneuvering him."**_

"_**You mean, by being quicker than he is?"**_

"_**Not necessarily quicker physically, Hinata-sama. The second lesson is also when your opponent is stronger than you are: When your opponent is stronger than you are, make his strength his weakness."**_

"_**Huh? What does that mean Hajiku-san?"**_

"_**You'll figure it out someday Hinata-sama"**_

_**End flashback**_

"_That was what Hajiku-san meant! "Make his strength his weakness," means take his greatest advantage, and turn it into his greatest weakness! Perhaps there is a way for me to get the upper hand here after all!"_

With that Hinata charged Hajiro, swinging in her tanto for an overhand strike, Hajiro grinned and elbow-rammed her in the stomach, which had been left open by her attack. Hinata staggered back and swung both arms wide; creating an opening that was too good for the swordsman to pass up.

"I have you now wench!" Hajiro cried out as he charged straight in, both swords pointing towards Hinata's stomach. His eyes gleamed; waiting to see her blood come pouring out of what was sure to be a fatal wound…only it never came.

At the very last moment, Hinata brought both her weapons down in an "X" formation. She then quickly and agilely brought up her right leg between her arms, kicking Hajiro square on the chin, breaking them apart. She then swiftly brought up her tanto and slashed Hajiro across the cheek, in the process cutting off his mask and giving her a good look at his face. Hajiro's eyes widened when he realized he had been tricked. He backed off and went to the first man, who was just recovering from the body slam that Naruto had given him earlier.

"Come lets find the other two and get out of here, the explosions would have drawn the ANBU here anyway, we must be long gone by the time that happens." The man nodded and took off. Hajiro reattached his mask and then turned to face Hinata, who by now had been joined by Naruto. He pointed one of his blades straight at her.

"Hinata-sama! Fate may have been kind to you today, but the next time we meet in battle you will not be so fortunate!" With that he jumped away into the trees.

"_That may be true, but I saw your face," _thought Hinata.

"Hinata, are you okay?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, Naruto-kun I'm fine, what about you?"

"Never better! Lets wait here, the ANBU should be almost here"

* * *

Sure enough, within a few minutes a squad of ANBU appeared at the location. After explaining what had happened they were told to report to the Hokage in half an hour, after being checked over at the hospital.

"Looks like you were right Naruto-kun, the Hokage is finally going to find out what has been happening in the clan." Hinata groaned, "She's going to kill me"

"You mean she's going to kill _us_, I'm not abandoning you now Hinata, not after what just happened"

"I'm so very sorry Naruto-kun"

"For what Hinata?"

"For involving you in my clan's problems"

"Hey Hinata, Listen, You didn't involve me, the ones who attacked us did. They could have held off until we had separated, but they didn't. That isn't your fault. Don't apologize.

* * *

Chapter 12 up! Hopefully these chapters make up for the…month I think, of not putting anything up. Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, added this story to their favorites, or placed it on story alert. It's very much appreciated! Again please let me know what you think, let me know where I can tweak things a bit.


	13. The Hokage

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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"So…can one of you please explain to me why you two were attacked by members of the Hyuuga Clan, hmm?"

Naruto and Hinata stood in front of the 5th Hokage, both looking justifiably nervous at the powerful medic. Naruto, for once, wasn't being his usual silly self and Hinata was valiantly trying to hold herself back from twiddling her fingers. They both looked at Tsunade, wondering when her legendary temper would manifest itself and send them back to the hospital.

However, before either of them could say anything, a sharp series of knocks came at the door, and at Tsunade's "Come in", Hiashi came striding into the room.

"_I'm saved!"_ Hinata thought

" Lady Hokage, please excuse my interruption, but I was informed of the attack by your messenger." Hiashi stated, coming to stop behind his daughter and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Allow me to offer my deepest apologies for the attack to Uzumaki Naruto, I can assure you that those responsible will be punished severely. Come Hinata, you must tell me who was responsible for this attack on the way back to the compound, the honor of the Hyuuga must be upheld." with that Hiashi turned, steering his daughter towards the door.

"Nobody is going anywhere." Tsunade stated in a calm and dangerously silky voice, hinting her temper was bubbling just beneath the surface.

"_..Or not"_ Hinata thought miserably as she turned around to face the Hokage again.

"I'm glad you're here Hiashi-sama, I wanted to ask you something; is there a problem in the Hyuuga Clan?" she asked, fixing a death glare on the Hyuuga leader.

"Why…no Hokage-sama, what gave you that idea?" Hiashi replied.

"Strike one, Hyuuga-sama. If you get to three strikes I'm going to lose my temper" Tsunade stated calmly, " Now, I ask again ' Is there a problem in the Hyuuga Clan?"

Father and daughter looked at each other, and then back at the Hokage, Hiashi gave a resigned sigh.

"Yes Hokage-sama, there is a major problem brewing in the clan", for the next 2 hours Hiashi described everything that had occurred over the past 5 days, the attacks, the murder, he went through every detail. When he finished, Tsunade was standing up and pacing back and forth behind her desk.

" And you have absolutely no idea who is in this group?" she asked

" No Lady Hokage, at this moment we don't have any idea who could possibly be in this group" Hiashi responded.

"When was I going to be told of this?" Tsunade shot at him

"It was my hope, Lady Tsunade, that this crisis could be resolved without informing you, however with today's attack you now know what is going on in the clan, we wanted to keep this within the clan and not involve the village in any way." Hiashi answered.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the Hyuuga leader " You are to _never_ hide anything crucial to this village again, you hear me? The Hyuuga are our most prestigious clan, we can't afford to lose the Hyuuga to in fighting. Now…" she then turned her furious gaze at Naruto and Hinata " about the attack, you were going to tell me exactly what had occurred?"

Switching between the two of them, Naruto and Hinata recounted all that had occurred from their viewpoints, giving a rough overview.

"You didn't attempt to get their names during the attack?" Tsunade asked, tapping her finger vigorously. She looked ready to toss all three of them through the wall with her bare hands.

"While I didn't get his name Tsunade-sama, I did manage to cut off his mask and get a good look at his face." Hinata answered nervously, Hiashi's eyebrow shot up at what his daughter just said.

"And I managed to hear the names of two of them while they were talking" Naruto added. Tsunade nodded at him.

"Wait just a moment Naruto" she ordered, she then turned to Hinata.

"You got a look at his face?"

" Yes, Hokage-sama"

" And he is a swordsman who uses two blades?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama"

Tsunade walked over to a filing cabinet, and after rifling through it some she came back with a handful of shinobi files and sat down at her desk.

"Is it this man?" she asked, placing a photo on the desk in front of her.

Hinata picked up the photo and gave it a good look, then shook her head and handed the photo back.

"No, Tsunade-sama, this isn't him"

"Is it this man?" Tsunade asked again, handing her another photo from another file.

Again Hinata replied " No, Tsunade-sama"

Tsunade then picked up a third photo and asked "What about him?"

Hinata picked up the photo, and immediately got a chill down her spine. Staring at her from the photo was the swordsman she barely defeated earlier.

" Hai, Tsunade-sama. This is him," She stated firmly, handing the photo back.

Tsunade took the photo and opened the file from which it came.

"Hyuuga Hajiro. Age: 22. Rank: Chunin. Special Skills: Byakugan, Gentle Fist Style. Special Notes: Is an expert swordsman, noted for exclusive use of a twin-sword style." She read off the file. Tsunade then turned her head towards Naruto.

" What were the names of the two who you fought, kid?"

" Hachico and Hikaku" replied Naruto, choosing not to object to being called "kid".

Tsunade turned towards Hiashi, " Until this issue is fully resolved, I'm appointing Naruto as my personal envoy for the time being, he is to be allowed into the compound and any meetings regarding this crisis."

"WHAT!?" all three shouted in unison, stunned

"No complaints! Naruto will inform me of all that is going on in the compound regarding this, what you and your clan do after this has been settled is your business." She leveled a stern gaze at the Hyuuga leader " I'm letting you off this time Hiashi-sama, but I'm warning you…if one more attack happens and another non-Hyuuga shinobi is involved, then I will _personally_ get involved in this, and I know you don't want that."

"Now then, Dismissed!"

Hiashi, Hinata, and Naruto bowed and walked out of the Hokage's office.

"Well, that went better than expected," declared Naruto as he walked towards his home. Hiashi turned towards the blond shinobi.

"We will see you again this evening, Naruto-san" Naruto turned towards him with a questioning glance.

"The Hokage has made you her personal envoy to the clan, that means you will be the guest of the clan for the time being." Naruto's eyes widened.

"So, I'm staying with the Hyuuga clan?" he asked

"Yes, please arrive at 8:30 this evening" Hiashi stated

"All right…Hyuuga-sama" Naruto's tone indicated he wasn't used to using very formal speech. Hiashi nodded and without a word turned towards the direction of the compound, with his daughter following.

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A/N: Hi everybody! Yes, I'm still alive. No, I haven't forgotten about this story, I just had to focus on my schoolwork, and that drains me to the point where I can hardly think. Now that I'm on summer vacation, you can expect more chapters. I want to thank you all for your patience, and as always thank you to those who favorited my story, reviewed, or alerted my story. It's very much appreciated! As always if you see anywhere where I can tweak the story or if there is a grammar issue, please let me know.


	14. A Secret Revealed

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY AGREE TO THAT BOY COMING HERE HIASHI-SAMA!"

Hinata winced as Elder Hanzaki thundered his question to her father, who had just informed him of the newest development in the crisis.

"Elder Hanzaki, it wasn't as if I had a choice in the matter. Lady Tsunade is our Hokage and as such, her word is law." Hiashi responded calmly.

"Why is the Hokage involved in this? This is a Hyuuga matter!" Hanzaki fumed

"The Hokage has been made aware of the situation because both my daughter and Uzumaki Naruto were attacked by rebels today, since a non-Hyuuga shinobi was involved the incident was brought to the attention of the Hokage. Further information will be discussed at tonight's meeting, for some very important information was uncovered during the attack, as my daughter informed me on the way back here." Hiashi informed him coldly

Elder Hanzaki turned on his heel and walked away from the pair, fuming as always.

"_Just when I thought today couldn't get anymore stressful"_ Hinata thought as she walked towards her room, her mind on the day's events. While she was unhappy that Naruto had gotten involved in her clan's problems, there was also a part of her that found the fact that Naruto was staying with her clan for sometime quite exciting.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a voice calling her name; she turned around to see Sujiko walking towards her, with Neji close behind.

"Hinata-sama, we heard about the attack on you today." Sujiko stated

"We also heard about the envoy that the Hokage has appointed" Neji added with a hint of a smirk on his face.

Hinata rolled her eyes into her head "You have? Then you know who it is don't you?"

"Indeed, it's Naruto-san" Sujiko stated with a smile "I'm certain it will work out"

"What do you think Neji-nii-san?" Hinata asked her older cousin

"Do you want me to be like Sujiko or completely honest?" Neji asked in return, causing Sujiko to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"Did you just call me a liar?"

"No, I called you an optimist which is basically the same thing" Neji replied calmly

"Neji-nii-san, I asked your thoughts?" Hinata reminded him.

Neji gave a deep sigh " If you want my honest opinion, Hinata-sama, then I think that this will turn out to be another headache on top of the many you already have.''

"Well, after tonight's meeting we will have another of my "special" meetings" Hinata informed them. Both cadet branch members looked at her quizzically.

"Remember the poem that stated 'A door has been opened'"? She asked. Both Sujiko and Neji nodded.

"Well, I found out what the door was" Hinata stated, looking at the surprised expressions of the two cadet branch members.

"Truly? What was it?" Sujiko asked.

"I'll tell you later" Hinata stated " For now I need to get ready for this evening"

Hinata turned and continued on to her room, with Sujiko at her side

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well, the four of you certainly botched the whole attack, now the Hokage is involved" Hikara stated bitterly

"Not to mention the main branch knows you're a part our little group Hajiro" Furio added angrily

"Will you two just give it a rest?" asked Hajiro angrily, "They just got lucky that's all"

"Yes, lucky enough to get the identity of three of our members" Tatsuga stated plainly

"Three?" the assembled group asked in unison

" Yes, my investigations indicated that they also know Hachico-san and Hikaku-san's names as well. However they failed to learn Hijiki-san's name"

" So now they know the identity of three of our members?" Hikara asked incredulously.

"They will come evening" Tatsuga replied, he then turned towards the three members in question. " The three of you will now have to stay here until the main house falls, once your names are known to the elders you will be unable to return to the compound, and if you do then your lives are essentially forfeit" All three nodded in understanding.

"The rest of you return to the compound, and wait for the Main House to take action, and while you are doing that see if you can pinpoint whoever is a likely candidate to be the White Lioness." Hikaku ordered.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That evening the entire Elder Council plus Naruto, despite many loud protests from Elder Hanzaki, were gathered in the Hyuuga Council room to hear what new information has come to light.

"As you all know by now, my eldest daughter was attacked today, along with Uzumaki Naruto –san."Hiashi declared. "The fight has now made the Hokage aware of the situation, and she has appointed him as her envoy until this situation has been fully resolved. Now on to more important matters, Hinata?" Hiashi turned towards his daughter and gestured for her to speak.

Hinata addressed the Elders " The attack today enabled me to obtain two pieces of important information. First, I now know the names of three members of the group who have been perpetrating these attacks" surprised murmurs echoed throughout the room.

"Truly Hinata-sama? What are the names?" asked Elder Kazuki

"The names are: Hyuuga Hajiro, Hyuuga Hachico, and Hyuuga Hikaku, we were unable to learn the identity of the fourth attacker." Hinata answered

" Then what are we waiting for?" someone asked "Lets call these three in and question them about these attacks!"

"Wait" Hinata said, " There is one other piece of information we learned today, it explains why this group is so bold."

"Really? And what would that be?"

Hinata looked around the room " They claim to have found a way around the cursed seal"

Stunned silence greeted the pronouncement. None of the Elders made a sound.

Hiashi took a deep breath "Well then" he stated, " Tomorrow, these three will be brought in for questioning. After that we will decide what to do. Dismissed!"

The room filed out in stunned silence, even Elder Hanzaki seemed worried.

Naruto fell into step next to Hinata " So…What now?" he asked.

"Now, we tell Neji-nii-san and Sujiko-san, because when word gets out tomorrow morning, chaos will most likely break loose and I want them to be prepared." Hinata stopped and stared at the nighttime sky.

" I also need their advice on this, because quite honestly, I don't know what to do"

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Chapter 14 up! Thank you all for your reviews, to those who favorited or alerted the story. Again, if you see any place where I can tweak it or fix it grammatically, please let me know! Again thank you all. Oh, and btw I borrowed the dialog between Neji and Sujiko from the episode " The Northern Air Temple" from Avatar: The last Airbender tv series


	15. Midnight Council

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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The moon shone high over the Hyuuga compound; creating a peaceful, serene setting. However, this was only an illusion disguising the tension that was prevalent within the compound, tension that was sure to increase with the news that Hinata was about to relay to the two Cadet Branch members sitting in front of her. Though in actuality there were three Cadet Branch members present. Sujiko's two-year old son had joined them that evening but he was fast asleep, curled up in Hinata's lap. Naruto was also present, but unlike Sujiko's son he was wide-awake.

Neji glanced at Hinata " Well, Hinata-sama, what news do you have for us this time?"

Hinata took a deep breath and looked into the eyes of the two cadet branch members " I'm sure you both know about the attack on me." Neji and Sujiko nodded " Well, there are two more pieces of information that you should know. The first piece is that now we know the names of three of the members of the group that has been perpetuating the violent attacks against the Main Branch." Neji's eyes widened slightly and Sujiko let out a small gasp.

"Truly Hinata-sama? Who are they?" Sujiko asked quickly.

"They are Hyuuga Hikaku-san, Hyuuga Hachico-san, and Hyuuga Hajiro-san" Hinata replied.

"Hikaku-san, Hachico-san, and Hajiro-san? Are you certain Hinata-sama?" Sujiko asked quickly.

"Yes, one of Naruto-kun's shadow clones overheard two of them addressing each other by name, and I managed to cut the mask off of Hajiro-san's face, identifying him later through the photo in his file."

"But why would they do this?" Sujiko mused, " True, they have hatred for the Main Branch but they aren't stupid."

"Unless…" Neji spoke up, looking his cousin square in the eye"… the second piece of information you learned explains why they are so bold."

"Indeed" replied Hinata, she took a deep breath and continued, " The fourth attacker, who we were unable to identify, was the one who first confronted us. He said something that, if true, would explain the majority of, if not all, attacks on the Main Branch. He said that their little group had found a way around the cursed seal."

Stunned silence greeted this pronouncement. Both Neji and Sujiko were speechless. For a few moments only silence reigned, the only sound coming from the sleeping child in Hinata's lap, blissfully unaware of the dramatic the dramatic announcement that had just been made

" A way around the cursed seal? Impossible…" Sujiko stated incredulously.

"But if it is true" Neji said " It would indeed explain the recent attacks on the Main Branch."

"Yes, that is the reason I called you two here. To let you know Cadet Branch members are being called in for questioning and why, and to also give you a heads up, because when word gets out, and trust me it will, of what this group claims, all hell will break loose."

"Yeah it will," said Naruto, who had remarkably remained quiet until that moment," How will the Cadet Branch react when they hear about this? Something tells me that people will have to take sides, at least some people will."

"Although I can't speak for everyone in the Cadet Branch Naruto-san, I personally am not going to side with this group." Sujiko said, glancing towards her son " I have my son to think about."

" I don't like the cursed seal anymore than the next person in the Cadet Branch." Neji said " However, I do not agree with this group's overly violent methods, they strike at people who are excessively cruel now, but how long will it take for them to attack the innocent?"

"Well, that's all that I wanted to tell you two, but now I have a question for you two." Hinata stated, " How should I handle this? This is bound to create paranoia among some members of the main family, and the branch family will undoubtedly be fearful of what the Main Family will do" Hinata asked them.

"I would say, Hinata-sama, that your first and foremost priority will be to identify _exactly_ who is a member of this group, then you must find out who is responsible for providing this group a way around the seal, if the claim is true, then what are his or her motives for it?" Neji stated firmly.

"I see, thank you both for coming tonight, I know its late."

Sujiko and Neji stood up " Indeed Hinata-sama," stated Sujiko as she stepped forward to retrieve her son " and I must thank you, Hinata-sama, for letting me bring my son. With my husband away on a mission, I couldn't leave him alone in my home."

"It is no trouble at all Sujiko-san" Hinata replied with a smile " besides I think he likes it when he gets to come over."

Sujiko laughed softly " Indeed he does Hinata-sama, though all he can understand is that every time he sees you he gets something nice."

With that, Neji and Sujiko bade Hinata goodnight and went to their homes. Naruto soon followed them out telling Hinata goodnight.

Hinata looked up at the starlit skies then went to bed to rest up for what tomorrow would bring.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Across the village, in the secret headquarters of the self-proclaimed "bringers of justice", Hajiro was also looking up at the nighttime sky. However, his mind wasn't on tomorrow, but had happened earlier that day. He was fuming at his failure to kill Hinata, his pride refusing to accept that she had defeated him in a fair fight.

"_She did NOT truly defeat me, she just got lucky! I'm the superior fighter!"_ He kept repeating to himself over and over. He gave the night sky one final glance.

"_Hinata-sama was lucky today, but whether it be in battle or when the Main Branch finally falls, my sword will be buried in her body."_ With that final thought he turned and entered the headquarters.

A/N: Here it is! Chapter 15! Sorry about the wait, I got some writer's block that I needed to get rid of. As usual thank you all for reviewing, favoriting, and putting my story on alert. It's really appreciated! If you see anything grammatical I need to change, please let me know and I'll change it. Hmm, I need a name for Sujiko's kid…that'll be a side project for later.


	16. A Growing Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Early the next morning Hajiro strode out onto the roof of the warehouse, which, in a few hours, would serve as his temporary home. He looked out over the village as the shades of dawn began to slowly make its way over the horizon.

"You look terrible" a voice behind him stated.

Hajiro slowly turned around to look at the owner of the voice, Hyuuga Hikaku.

"I didn't sleep a single wink last night" Hajiro replied

"This is only a temporary thing Hajiro" Hikaku stated mildly " Once the Main Branch falls we will be able to go back as free men, maybe even heroes" he chuckled " thought I can't really believe Hinata-sama actually defeated you…."

"SHE DIDN'T DEFEAT ME!" Hajiro roared "SHE JUST GOT LUCKY!" Hikaku backed up a few steps and held up a placating hand.

"Easy there Hajiro, I was only joking. Technically it was only a draw," his words calmed Hajiro, barely.

" I have trained my whole life in the twin sword style….Every single day I was out training until I could barely move!" he ranted, pacing back and forth. " I have always strived for absolute perfection, believing I could defeat anyone, ANYONE! Then Hinata-sama uses some cheap little trick and cuts off my mask! When I see her again it will be her dying day." He turned to face Hikaku again, " I guarantee it, " he stated, grounding out each syllable.

"Noted" Hikaku stated plainly " but right now Hajiro, we can't go waltzing into the compound, in a few short hours we will be branded as suspected traitors. Everyone else, except for Tatsuga-san and Hachico has gone back to the compound to gauge the reaction, recruit new people if possible, and when they return, we will be able to plan our next move." He placed a hand on Hajiro's shoulder " You will have your rematch with Hinata-sama, Hajiro. I promise."

"Oh, I don't want a rematch" Hajiro stated calmly. Hikaku raised a brow in question.

" I want to drive my sword into her body"

* * *

Hinata lay sleeping in her bed, somewhere between the realm of dreams and full consciousness, when she felt a small weight on the side of her bad. The morning visitor then climbed on top of her chest and started pulling on the chopped strands that framed her face while bouncing up and down.

Hinata knew there was only one child in the entire compound who would do this, and only one mother who knew that her child could get away with it.

" Seiki-kun…stop it. It's too early for this" Hinata mumbled sleepily, half-opening one eye.

Sujiko's two-year old son stopped long enough to smile at Hinata, then resumed bouncing and pulling.

Hinata gave a resigned sigh, picking the young child up and setting him to the side, sitting herself up to bring herself to full consciousness. She turned to find Sujiko standing at the door with a broad smirk on her face.

"Remind me Sujiko-san, did you train him to do that? Or was it something he just started doing on by himself?"

Sujiko's face was the picture of innocence as she replied " He developed the habit by himself Hinata-sama, I didn't have any part in developing it."

"Right" Hinata stated, clearly not believing her.

Sujiko's smirk quickly turned into a worried frown as she turned to the sound of running feet.

Hyuuga Hikari skidded to a halt at the open door to Hinata's room panting heavily, her face holding an agitated expression as she tried to speak.

"Calm down Hikari-san, catch your first then tell me what is the matter." Hinata ordered.

After a few moments Hikari spoke

" Hinata-sama, there is a small problem with the three Cadet Branch members the elders wanted to question"

"Huh? What happened?" Hinata asked quickly

"They are nowhere to be found Hinata-sama! Their quarters were empty and their beds weren't slept in!"

"What!"

"That's not all, news of this has spread to the rest of the Cadet Branch and everyone is in a panic, also….there was a rumor… that they have found a way around the cursed seal and has only added to the chaos!"

"That got out already? I didn't expect that to get out until noon at least" Hinata stated, surprised.

"Your father and the Clan Elders are meeting right now Hinata-sama, your father sent me to tell you that you have the authority to act if you see a need too. Please Hinata-sama, you must speak to the rest of the Cadet Branch before this gets out of hand!"

Hinata was silent for a few moments, then she took a deep breath.

"All right, inform the Cadet Branch that I will speak with 10 members, that they may choose, and tell them what's going on, after breakfast."

"Very well, Hinata-sama, I shall do so" bowing, Hikari dashed off.

Seiki decided that he had been without attention for long enough and reached up to pull on Hinata's hair again. Sujiko stepped forward to pull her son away, since Hinata was already awake.

"We had better get you ready Hinata-sama, if you are going to speak with the 10 appointed representatives."

"That won't take long Sujiko-san." Hinata replied, then she turned to Sujiko with a grin. " I just thought of something, I wonder if Naruto-kun is awake yet."

"He isn't" Sujiko informed her quickly

"How do you know?" Hinata inquired

"The hideous noise coming from his snoring as I passed his room told me he is still asleep."

"I thought he had an alarm clock" Hinata mused

"Hinata-sama, they don't make alarm clocks loud enough to cancel out "Foghorn-level snoring"

Both women laughed at this statement.

* * *

2 hours later, however, Hinata's good mood had disappeared as she spoke with the 10 chosen representatives.

"All right, I'm sure all of you want to know what's going on"

"Indeed Hinata-sama, why have these three cadet branch members called in for questioning?"

"Because they have been identified as 3 of the 4 who attacked me and Naruto-kun yesterday, and they are suspected as being a part of the group that has been perpetrating such violent attacks against the Main Branch lately."

"Hinata-sama, there is a rumor going around that this group has found a way around the cursed seal."

"As of right now, that's all that it is, a rumor. All we have so far is hearsay."

The questions came for another 15 mins, and Hinata did her best to quell the any fears the cadet branch had, Afterwards, Naruto poked his head in to tell her that now she had to meet with members of the Main Branch.

"It's going to be a very long day." Hinata thought as she walked alongside Naruto.

* * *

A/N: Chapter 16 up! Sorry about the long wait guys, I've been busy with my summer job. Thanks to all of you who read,reviewed, and favorited this story. Its very much appreciated! Oh and Sujiko's son now has a name :Seiki. Credit goes to mistressmaxwell at for helping me with the name. Please read and review.


	17. A New Revelation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

It was nearly one in the afternoon before Hinata had a chance to eat and relax. She had met with members of the Main Branch, nearly losing her temper at Hyuuga Hikita, informing them of everything that was known, that it was a small group doing this and not to do anything rash. Afterwards she was called into the Clan Elder's Chambers to join in the discussion of how to proceed. After some resistance from Elder Hanzaki, her plan was decided on as the best course of action.

"Man Hinata. Your clan is a paranoid mess, no offense" Naruto commented as he sat down opposite her.

"None taken Naruto-kun" Hinata replied wearily, sitting down to a late lunch.

"That Hyuuga Hikita, man she was a pain! If you hadn't asked me to simply observe I would've knocked that arrogant little brat upside her head, and I think she deserves it."

"You and everyone else in the compound Naruto-kun." Hinata stated a rice ball to her hadn't been eating for three minutes when someone knocked on the door.

"Take a number"Naruto called out to whoever was behind the door.

Shaking her head, Hinata called out "Who is it?"

"It is I Hinata-sama,Hyuuga Hajiku, may I speak with you? You can still eat."

"Very well, Hajiku-san, come in"

"Hajiku strode in and bowed to the two teenagers having lunch.

"Arigato,Hinata-sama, and Naruto-san your reaction to my knock was a little unexpected" he stated with a smile.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but we've only just sat down to eat."

"I understand. Apology Accepted."

His smile faded as he turned to face Hinata.

"Hinata-sama, there is something I must talk to you about."

"What is it?" Hinata asked resuming her lunch.

* * *

Hachico made his way to the main room of the headquarters where he heard sounds of training. He found Hajiro doing swordmanship drills. Shirtless, he sped through the drills as if they were nothing, and from the large pool of moisture at his feet, Hachico guessed he had been at it for quite some time. Hajiro stopped and fell down to his knees panting heavily.

"How long have you been doing that Hajiro?" Hachico asked casually

"…..don't know….lost track…..of time" Hajiro panted back.

Hachico waited a few moments before asking

"Preparing for your inevitable rematch with Hinata-sama?"

"Stop using the word 'rematch' Hachico"Hajiro replied heatedly

"Then why…?"

"I'm training…so that when I face her again she can't use some cheap trick to save herself again."

Hachico knew there was something else on Hajiro's mind, so he asked

"Is that all?"

"No," Hajiro replied." I was thinking about my first tutor. He was an amazing swordfighter, easily the best. However he had..flaws shall we say. For one he was extremely humble about his abilities. It was sickening to me, For another he tried wasting my time with foolish notions such as "discretion" and "tempered pride". I only wanted to learn the twin sword technique. I didn't have time for his philosophical rambling!" Hajiro looked at Hachico with a half-smile on his face," After a few years, it became obvious he had nothing else to teach me, so I left him and began practicing on my own."

"Who was your teacher?" Hachico asked

Hajiro looked up " The clan swordmaster, Hyuuga Hajiku."

* * *

What? You mean Hajiro-san was once your student?" Hinata asked, stunned.

"Hai, I am humble about my skills, I am the clan's swordmaster. Hajiro came to me before he was even a genin, seeking to learn the twin-sword style. He was a natural with the blade, howeverI could see that despite outward appearances, he lacked self-control and he possessed, as is sometimes the case, excessive pride. He had little use for the philosophies behind swordfighting. At first, I tried to temper his ways, show him how foolish it was to view sword-fighting as merely hacking your foe to bits, but he would have none of it. After a few years, it became obvious that he would never listen to me, so he left me and trained on his own.

"But why tell us this now?" Naruto asked.

" When I heard about the attack on Hinata-sama, and the fact that the assailant was using a twin-sword style coupled with the words that were spoken to her, left absolutely no doubt in my mind that it was Hyuuga Hajiro."

He continued" I must admit that I feel somewhat responsible for what happened, since he was once my pupil. I apologize Hinata-sama, for my failure to act sooner."

"Apology accepted Hajiku-san, but there really is no need to apologize. You did everything you could then, Hajiro-san simply made the decision to disregard you."

"Arigato, Hinata-sama. I wish to extend to you some blade training, so that when you next meet you will be better prepared."

Arigato Hajiku-san. I accept your offer."

"Excellent, we will meet this evening then Hinata-sama"

Bowing, Hajiku took his leave and walked back to his home.

"Hinata-sama is wise for one so young" Hajiku thought "This is good, for with a foe like Hajiro she will need all the help she can get."

* * *

A/N: Chapter 17! Wow, I did not expect this to get this far. Thanks to all who read and reviewed and added this story to their favorites list and story alert. It's very much appreciated. Please read and review


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